'/7//  i 


AN 


Historical   Address 

Delivered  at  Groton,   Massachusetts, 

February  20,  1880, 

$g  Repeat  of  the  ©itteens, 

AT    THE    DEDICATION    OF    THREE    MONUMENTS 
ERECTED   BY   THE   TOWN. 


BY 

SAMUEL    ABBOTT    GREEN, 

A    NATIVE   OF   THE  TOWN. 


NEAR  THIS   SPOT 

STOOD   THE    FIRST   MEETING   HOUSE    OF    GROTON 

Built  in  1666 

AND    BURNT    BY    THE    INDIANS 

13  March  1676 


HERE   DWELT 

WILLIAM   AND    DELIVERANCE   LONGLEY 

WITH   THEIR   EIGHT   CHILDREN. 

On  the  27TH  of  July  1694 

THE   INDIANS   KILLED   THE   FATHER   AND    MOTHER 

AND   FIVE   OF  THE   CHILDREN 

AND    CARRIED    INTO    CAPTIVITY 

THE   OTHER   THREE. 


COLONEL  WILLIAM    PRESCOTT 

COMMANDER    OF    THE    AMERICAN    FORCES 
AT  THE   BATTLE  OF   BUNKER   HILL 

Was  born  on  the  20TH  of  February  1726 

IN   A    HOUSE    WHICH    STOOD 
NEAR  THIS   SPOT 


uAN 


Historical   Address 

Delivered  at  Groton,  Massachusetts, 
February  20,  i88o,j 

$tj  Request  of  the  dtitkens, 

AT    THE    DEDICATION    OF    THREE    MONUMENTS 
ERECTED   BY   THE   TOWN. 


BY 


SAMUEL    ABBOTT    GREEN, 

it 

A   NATIVE   OF   THE  TOWN. 


GROTON 

1880. 


University  Press  : 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge. 


TO 

QLi)c  IHemorn   of  tl]e  Glljilorctt 

CAPTURED    DURING    THE    INDIAN    WARS   AND    CARRIED   OFF 
FROM    GROTON, 

OF    WHOM 

SOME   MADE  THEIR   HOMES  AND  PASSED  THEIR  LIVES  WITH  THEIR 

CAPTORS,     WHILE     OTHERS     CAME     BACK     TO     THEIR 

NATIVE  TOWN   AND   FILLED   PLACES  OF 

HONOR  AND   USEFULNESS, 

THIS  ADDRESS  IS  INSCRIBED 

BY    THE    WRITER. 


HISTORICAL    ADDRESS. 


IT  is  the  duty  of  every  community  to  commemorate  the 
great  deeds  and  to  perpetuate  the  important  events  con- 
nected with  its  history.  The  town  of  Groton  is  perform- 
ing that  duty  when  she  erects  the  monuments  which  we 
dedicate  to-day.  These  stones  are  set  up  to  the  pious  mem- 
ory of  the  founders  of  the  town,  who  worshipped  God  in  that 
rude  and  humble  meeting-house  so  soon  to  be  destroyed  by 
the  Indians  ;  to  the  sad  memory  of  that  unfortunate  family 
who  on  their  own  threshold  were  massacred  by  the  savages  ; 
and  to  the  honored  memory  of  a  military  commander,  who  was 
the  ancestor  as  well  as  the  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  dis- 
tinguished and  useful  families. 

There  were  not  many  places  in  the  Massachusetts  Colony 
settled  earlier  than  this  good  old  town  ;  but  old  as  she  is,  she  is 
yet  too  young  to  forget  her  children.  With  motherly  affection 
she  watches  their  career  and  notes  their  deeds.  It  matters 
not  when  they  lived  or  when  they  died,  their  names  are  still 
remembered  at  the  old  home.  It  matters  not  whether  they 
achieved  distinction,  as  the  world  goes,  or  whether  they 
pursued  the  even  tenor  of  their  way  in  quiet  paths,  —  their 
memory  is  equally  dear  in  the  family  circle.  Connected  with 
some  of  them  are  certain  local  incidents  of  historical  interest 
which  deserve  to  enter  into  the  thoughts  of  future  genera- 
tions. And  I  submit  that  it  is  sound  public  policy  to  mark 
the  spots  so  closely  associated  with  such  events.  It  is  an  act 
in  memory  of  the  dead,  for  the  benefit  of  the  living.  It  is  a 
debt  due  from  the  present  to  the  past,  and  the  town  cheer- 


8 

fully  recognizes  the  obligation.  With  us  and  those  who  fol- 
low us,  these  monuments  will  mean  veneration  for  the  virtues 
of  the  early  settlers,  sympathy  for  their  misfortunes,  and  an 
appreciation  of  their  noble  deeds. 

The  pioneer  Puritans  aimed  at  establishing  a  Christian 
Commonwealth  on  this  continent;  and  the  General  Court,  in 
granting  plantations  or  townships,  often  required  that  there 
should  be  a  sufficient  number  of  settlers  to  support  a  minister. 
Every  man  was  obliged  to  pay  his  share  of  the  cost,  and  no 
one  seemed  inclined  to  question  the  right  of  such  an  obligation. 
Groton  was  incorporated  as  a  town,  May  25,  1655,  and  in  the 
grant  the  General  Court  expressed  the  desire  that  it  should  be 
laid  out  "  with  all  Convenient  speede  that  so  no  Incourage- 
ment  may  be  wanting  to  the  Peticoners  for  a  speedy  procuring 
of  a  godly  minister  amongst  them."  Various  circumstances 
conspired  to  hinder  the  growth  of  the  new  settlement,  and, 
much  to  the  disappointment  of  the  petitioners  doubtless,  it  was 
some  years  before  a  minister  was  settled.  The  very  first  entry 
in  the  earliest  book  of  town  records  —  known  as  the  "  The 
Indian  Roll"  —  refers  to  the  building  of  a  house  for  the  min- 
ister and  the  place  for  the  meeting-house.     It  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  Att  a  generall  towne  meet[ing,]  June.  23.  1662. 

"  It  was  agreed  vppon  that  the  house  for  the  Minister  should  be 
set  vppon  the  place  where  it  is  now  framinge. 

"  Also  that  the  meetinge  house  shall  be  sett  vpon  the  right  hand 
of  the  path  by  a  small  whit  Oak,  marked  at  the  souwest  side  with 
two  notches  &  a  blaze  " 

It  is  very  likely  that  the  minister's  house  was  built  about 
this  time,  as  it  was  then  in  the  framing ;  but  the  meeting-house 
was  not  erected  until  four  years  afterward.  The  dwelling  stood 
near  the  site  of  the  present  High  School,  and  for  several  years 
the  inhabitants  met  in  it  for  worship  on  Sundays.  It  was 
a  good-sized  building  ;  for  it  was  used  as  a  town-hall  and 
school-house  as  well  as  a  meeting-house,  and  subsequently,  at 
the  outbreak  of  King  Philip's  War,  as  a  garrison-house,  when 
it  was  in  the  possession  of  Parson  Willard. 


The  exact  spot  where  the  meeting-house  stood  cannot  now 
be  ascertained,  but  its  neighborhood  is  well  known.  The 
nearest  clew  to  the  site  is  found  in  the  following  entry  in 
"  The  Indian  Roll :  "  — 

"The  Record  of  ye  landes  granted  to  Mr  gershom  hubard  at  a 
ginrall  town  meeting  June  29  1678  viz  all  the  common  land  that 
lye  neare  the  place  wheir  the  old  meeting  house  stood  Dunstable 
hye  way  runing  thorow  it  and  the  hye  way  Runing  into  the  captains 
land  wheir  it  may  be  Judged  most  convenient  by  them  that  are  to 
lay  it  out  " 

This  record  would  place  the  site  definitely  on  the  North 
Common,  and  nowhere  else.  As  the  meeting-house  was  "  sett 
on  the  right  hand  of  the  path,"  it  must  have  stood  on  land 
now  owned  by  Governor  Boutwell.  The  principal  roads  met 
near  this  place,  and  it  was  the  most  convenient  spot  that 
could  have  been  chosen.  There  were  at  that  time  probably 
not  more  than  fifty  families  living  in  the  town  ;  of  these, 
perhaps  fifteen  were  in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  and  the 
others  were  scattered  widely  apart,  mostly  on  the  road  to  the 
Bay,  as  the  road  to  Boston  was  called,  and  on  the  Lancaster 
highway.  These  were  the  two  principal  thoroughfares  of  that 
early  period,  and  they  converged  to  a  point  near  the  meeting- 
house. 

The  circumstantial  evidence  in  the  case  goes  also  to  confirm 
this  view  in  regard  to  the  site.  At  a  town  meeting  held 
March  5,  1665-66,  it  was  voted  that  a  pound  should  be  built 
for  the  town's  use,  and  be  placed  near  the  meeting-house.  Un- 
fortunately, the  leaf  of  the  original  record  containing  this  vote 
is  now  lost ;  but  it  was  seen  and  examined  by  Mr.  Butler, 
who  quotes  it  in  his  History  of  the  town  (page  41).  At  this 
time  the  meeting-house  was  not  built,  but  the  place  for  it  had 
been  selected.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  site 
of  the  pound  was  ever  changed  until  comparatively  modern 
times  ;  and  there  are  many  in  this  audience  who  remember 
the  identical  spot  where  it  stood,  which  was  near  the  North 
Common. 


IO 

Shortly  after  the  re-settlement  of  the  town,  subsequent  to 
its  burning  by  the  Indians,  the  usual  discussion  took  place 
about  choosing  the  site  of  the  meeting-house,  which  always 
occurs  in  every  small  community.  It  was  not  peculiar  to  this 
town  nor  to  that  time,  but  is  common  to-day,  here  and  else- 
where.    On  June  8,  1680, — 

"it  was  voted  that  the  meetinghouse  shall  stand  wheir  the  other 
meetinghouse  or  some  wheir  their  about." 

This  second  meeting-house  is  known  to  have  stood  on  the 
Middle  Common,  near  the  Chaplin  School-house  ;  and  this 
would  be  in  accordance  with  the  vote  that  it  should  be  on  the 
old  site,  or  "  some  wheir  their  about." 

The  next  allusion  to  church  affairs,  found  in  the  public 
records,  is  the  following:  — 

"Atagenerall  Towne  meeting.  March  18.  1663.  It  was  gener- 
ally] agreed,  as  folloeth 

"first.  That  M-  Millar  is  by  the  Consent  of  the  Towne  ma[ni]- 
fested  by  vote  to  be  desired  if  God  moue  his  hart  there  unto  to 
continve  still  with  vs  for  our  further  edificat[ion.]  Richard  Blood 
desents  from  this  in  regard  of  the  time  of  or  desiring  him.  wc  he 
would  have  to  be  after  the  gen  :  Court. 

"  2Iy  That  M'  Miller  shall  haue  a  Twenty  Acar  lot  layd  out  to 
him  acording  to  the  Townes  grant  to  him  " 

This  vote  gives  the  name  of  the  first  minister  of  Groton,  and 
contains  the  only  reference  to  him  that  is  made  in  the  town 
records.  The  inhabitants  little  thought  at  the  time  that  he 
would  be  called  upon  so  soon  to  render  the  account  of  his 
stewardship  on  earth.  In  three  short  months  after  the  town 
had  invited  him  to  continue  with  them  as  their  friend  and 
pastor,  his  labors  ceased,  and  he  went  to  take  his  reward.  In 
the  first  return  of  deaths,  made  by  the  town  clerk  of  Groton 
to  the  clerk  of  the  courts,  the  record  of  his  death  is  thus 
given :  — 

"Mr  Jn.°  Miller  minister  of  Gods  holy  word  died.  June  12th 
1663." 


1 1 

In  the  church  records  of  Roxbury,  kept  at  that  time  by  the 
Reverend  Samuel  Danforth,  and  containing  references  to 
events  throughout  New  England,  it  is  written  that  — 

"June.  14.  [1663.]  Mr  John  Miller  Preacher  of  ye  Gospell  at 
Groyton,  somtime  Pastor  to  ye  church  at  Yarmouth  rested  fro  his 
labours." 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  date  of  his  death  in  these  two  rec- 
ords differs  by  two  days,  but  the  one  given  by  the  town  clerk 
is  probably  correct.  As  the  pioneer  preacher  of  the  town 
when  it  was  yet  a  wilderness,  Mr.  Miller  deserves  more  than 
a  passing  notice. 

The  Reverend  John  Miller  graduated  at  Gonvil  and  Caius 
College,  Cambridge,  England,  in  the  year  1627,  and  came  to 
this  country  in  1637.  He  lived  for  a  short  time  in  Roxbury, 
where  he  was  one  of  the  elders  in  Eliot's  church.  He  was 
settled  in  the  ministry  at  Rowley,  from  the  year  1639  to  1641, 
and  perhaps  later,  as  an  assistant  to  the  Reverend  Ezekiel 
Rogers  ;  and  during  this  time  he  filled  the  office  of  town  clerk. 
He  was  made  a  freeman  of  Massachusetts,  May  22,  1639.  In 
the  autumn  of  1641,  he  was  waited  on  by  messengers  from 
Woburn,  who  desired  his  services  for  their  church  ;  but  they 
found  "  Mr.  Roggers  loth  to  part  with  him." 

Johnson,  in  his  "  Wonder- Working  Providence  of  Sion's 
Saviour,  in  New  England,"  refers  to  him  both  in  prose  and  in 
verse.     The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  poetry  :  — 

"  With  courage  bold  Miller  through  Seas  doth  venter, 
To  toyl  it  out  in  the  great  Western  wast, 
Thy  stature  low  one  object  high  doth  center ; 

Higher  than  Heaven  thy  faith  on  Christ  is  plaft:" 

(Chap.  XL  p.  131.) 

In  the  year  1642,  letters  were  received  from  Virginia  setting 
forth  the  great  need  of  ministers  in  that  distant  colony.  The 
communications  were  treated  with  much  formality  and  gravity, 
and  were  read  publicly  on  a  lecture-day.  In  view  of  the  state- 
ments made  in  the  letters,  the  elders  appointed  a  time  for  their 
special   consideration  ;  and  the  legislature  voted  that,  if  the 


12 

churches  consent,  the  magistrates  would  recommend  the  mis- 
sionaries to  the  government  of  Virginia.  After  careful  delib- 
eration, Mr.  Miller  was  appointed  with  two  other  ministers  ; 
but  he  was  forced  to  decline  the  invitation,  on  account  of 
bodily  infirmities. 

Mr.  Miller's  name  appears  in  the  list  of  grantees  of  New- 
bury, December  7,  1642.  A  lot  of  land  in  Rowley  was  granted 
him  in  January,  1643-44,  which  indicates  that  his  ministry 
may  have  still  continued  in  that  town.  From  Rowley  he 
moved  to  Yarmouth,  where  he  was  the  settled  minister,  though 
the  exact  date  of  his  removal  is  not  known.  His  daughter, 
Susannah,  was  born  at  Yarmouth,  May  2,  1647;  and  he  un- 
doubtedly was  living  there  at  this  time.  He  was  probably  the 
Mr.  John  Miller  who  was  made  a  freeman  of  Plymouth  Colony, 
June  1,  1658.  In  the  summer  of  1662,  he  was  a  member  of 
the  council  that  convened  at  Barnstable  to  consider  the  case  of 
John  Smith  and  others  who  had  seceded  from  the  Barnstable 
church.  It  is  not  known  exactly  when  Mr.  Miller  came  to 
Groton  ;  but  probably  some  time  during  1662,  as  in  that  year 
the  town  voted  to  build  a  house  for  the  minister. 

His  wife,  Lydia,  had  previously  died  in  Boston,  August  7, 
1658,  leaving  a  large  family  of  children,  one  of  whom,  John, 
was  born  in  England.  Mr.  Miller  was  a  man  of  decided  liter- 
ary attainments,  and  a  devoted  servant  of  Christ. 

In  less  than  ten  days  after  Mr.  Miller's  death,  the  town 
voted  to  invite  the  Reverend  Samuel  Willard  to  be  their  min- 
ister.    The  vote  was  as  follows  :  — 

"  [Ju]ne  21  [i6]63  Its  agreed  by  the  Towne  &  manifested  by  vote 
that  Mr  Willard  if  he  accept  of  it  shall  be  their  minester  as  long  as 
he  lives  \vc  Mr  Willard  accepts  Except  a  manifest  providenc  of  God 
apears  to  take  him  off 

"  These  persons  folloing  doe  desent  from  this  former  vot.  Rich- 
ard. Sawtell.  Samuell  Woods.  James  Parker  :  John  Nutting  James 
ffiske 

"  Its  agreed  by  the  major  part  of  the  Towne  that  Mr  Willard  shall 
haue  their  interest  in  the  house  &.  lands  that  was  devoted  by  the 
Towne  for  the  minestry  successively,  provided  they  may  meete  in 


13 

the  house  on  the  lords  day  &.  vpon  other  ocasions  of  the  Towne  on 
metings  :  And  these  persons  ffollowing  desent  from  their  act 

"  James  Parker  Ric.  Sawtell  Willia'"  Longley  John  nutting 
Tho.  Tarbole.  Jun. 

"  Richard  Blood  and  John  Clary  att  present 

"James  ffiske.  John  longley.  Joh  laran[ce]  Joseph  laranc." 

It  was  then  the  custom  throughout  New  England  to  settle  a 
minister  for  life ;  and  it  was  not  supposed  that  a  town  could 
prosper  without  a  regular  pastor,  which  accounts  for  the 
promptness  in  choosing  Mr.  Willard.  He  was  a  recent  grad- 
uate of  Harvard  College,  and  was  just  entering  upon  his 
chosen  profession.  At  the  outset  there  was  some  opposi- 
tion to  him  on  the  part  of  a  few  men,  but  this  subsequently 
disappeared.  It  reached  its  height  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks,  when  there  was  much  asking  of  mutual  forgiveness,  as 
may  be  inferred  from  the  records,  which  are  in  part  destroyed, 
though  enough  remains  to  show  this  fact.  The  imperfect  rec- 
ords read  thus  :  — 

[Date  torn  off.] 
"...  to  exercise  am  ...  all  Edification  in  the  ways  .  .  .  glory 
&  or  owne  everlasting  goo  .  .  .  vs  And  further  desiring  ye  Lord  to  .  .  . 
what  hath  been  herein  any  way  offensive]  vnto  him  and  to  help  euery 
one  of  vs  to  forg[et]  &  forgiue  what  hath  been  any  way  offensiue  [to] 
each  other  as  we  desire  the  Lord  to  forgiue  vs  " 

The  opposers,  to  whom  the  dissension  was  due,  may  have 
thought  that  he  was  too  young  and  ill-suited  to  lead  a  flock 
amid  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  frontier  life.  Their  fears, 
however,  proved  groundless :  he  showed  himself  on  all  occa- 
sions to  be  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  in  after-life  attained 
a  high  degree  of  distinction.  At  the  next  meeting  his  salary 
was  agreed  upon  as  follows :  — 

"  [Sept.]  10  i:  It  is  agreed  by  ye  Consent  of  the  Towne  &  mani- 
fested by  vote  that  Mf  Willard  shall  haue  for  this  year  forty  pounds 
and  if  God  be  pleased  so  to  despose  of  his  &  our  hearts  to  continue 
together  after  the  expiration  of  the  yeare  (w[e]  hope)  by  or  aproving 
of  him  &  he  of  vs  we  shall  we  shall  [j/V]*be  willing  to  ad  vnto  his 
maintenanc  as  [God]  shall  blesse  vs.  expecting  allso  that  he  shall 
render  vnto  our  pouerty  if  God  shall  please  to  deny  a  blessing  vpon 
our  labours 


14 

"  2.  It  is  agreed  &  voted  his  yeare  shall  begin  the  first  day  of  July 
last  past." 

It  would  seem  from  this  vote  that  Mr.  Willard  entered  upon 
the  cares  and  duties  of  his  ministerial  life  on  the  first  day  of 
July,  1663,  only  three  weeks  after  Mr.  Miller's  death.  It  is 
probable  that  the  minister's  house  at  this  time  was  finished, 
and  Mr.  Willard  living  in  it,  and  preaching  there  on  Sun- 
days. Not  unlikely  in  pleasant  weather  he  would  stand  in  the 
doorway  and  exhort  his  hearers  outside,  and  when  it  was  stormy 
they  would  crowd  within,  listening  with  the  same  attention. 
We  can  imagine  how  it  would  try  the  patience  of  a  good  house- 
keeper to  do  the  necessary  cleaning  after  such  a  promiscuous 
gathering.  At  that  time  Mr.  Willard  had  not  entered  upon 
those  matrimonial  relations  which  he  took  upon  himself  soon 
afterward,  and  there  was  consequently  no  Mrs.  Willard  to  look 
after  the  minister's  house  and  keep  it  in  order.  In  this  emer- 
gency the  town  passed  the  following  vote  :  — 

"Sep.  21:  63  It  is  agreed  by  ye  Town  wth  John  Nuttin  &  voted 
that  he  the  said  John  shall  keepe  cleane  the  meeting  house  this 
ye[ar]  or  cause  it  to  be  kept  cleene  &  for  his  labour  he  is  to  h[ave] 
fourteen  shillings  " 

In  the  mean  time,  Mr.  Willard  was  giving  satisfaction  to  the 
town,  all  opposition  to  him  having  apparently  ceased.  Al- 
though there  had  been  preaching  here  for  two  years,  it  would 
seem  from  an  entry  in  the  Roxbury  church  records,  that  a 
church  had  not  been  regularly  established.    It  is  as  follows:  — 

"July.  13.  [1664.]  A  church  gathered  at  Groyton  &  Mr  Willard 
ordained  " 

The  distinction  is  purely  technical,  and  relates  solely  to  mat- 
ters of  ecclesiastical  government  and  congregational  polity. 
The  Puritans  laid  great  stress  on  questions  of  this  kind,  and 
until  a  church  was  gathered  the  seals  or  sacraments  could  not 
be  administered.  During  these  two  years  of  preaching,  the 
Lord's  Supper  was  never  celebrated,  and  children  were  taken 
elsewhere  to  be  baptized.  This  would  make  July  13,  1664,  the 
date  of  the  organization  of  the  first  church  at  Groton,  as  well 
as  of  the  first  ordination. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  time,  Mr.  Willard  took  a  young  wife, 


15 

Abigail  Sherman  by  name,  the  daughter  of  the  Reverend  John 
Sherman,  who  was  the  minister  of  Watertown.  She  lightened 
the  labors  of  her  husband,  and  made  herself  useful  and  beloved 
in  the  neighborhood.  In  the  summer  of  1665,  —  the  exact 
date  of  the  record  being  torn  off,  —  Mr.  Willard's  salary  was 
increased  by  ten  pounds,  which  was  a  heavy  tax  at  that  time. 
The  record  reads  thus  :  — 

"It  was  .  .  .  of  Mr  Willard  our  .  .  .  declared  by  voate  y'  our 
time  of  .  .  .  yerly  so  longe  as  god  shall  please  to  .  .  .  gether  shall 
begine  and  ende  vpon  the  29  [d]ay  of  September 

"It  is  furthermor  agreed  and  decleared  by  voate  yf  M.r  Willerde 
shall  be  alowed  in  consideration  of  his  labours  amonstevs  this  next 
yere  Inseui[ng]  the  full  p'p'osion  of  fifteye  pounds  to  be  payd  by 
euery  Inhabitant  acordinge  to  his  p'p'osion  and  as  nere  as  may  be 
in  y'  which  his  ne^sety  requir[es]  and  furthermor  in  consideration 
of  the  tim  being  betwene  the  furste  of  July  laste  past  and  ye  last  of 
September  next  we  Do  herby  agree  and  promise  vnto  him  yf  we  will 
paye  him  twentey  pounds  for  the  first  thirde  parte  of  tim  at  or  befor 
the  last  of  September  next  and  twentey  pounds  mor  at  or  befor  the 
furste  of  May  next  and  twentey  too  pounds  and  10  shilings  more 
at  or  before  the  last  of  September  next  after  which  will  be  in  ye  yere 
1666." 

The  visible  church  in  the  wilderness  was  now  beginning  to 
prosper.  It  was  outgrowing  the  accommodations  furnished  by 
the  minister's  house,  and  something  larger  than  an  ordinary 
habitation  was  needed.  For  a  long  time  it  must  have  been  a 
matter  of  much  thought,  and  the  great  question  of  the  day 
among  all  classes  of  this  little  community.  Finally  the  mat- 
ter culminated  in  the  following  vote  :  — 

"At  a  town  metting  vpon  The  21  of  the  7  mo,h  1665  It  was  this 
Day  agred  and  voated  y'  they  will  haue  a  metting  house  bult  forth- 
with.] 

"  It  was  this  day  agreed  and  by  voate  declard  y'  Sargent  James 
Parker  and  Richard  Blood  shall  make  the  couenenant  with  the  car- 
penders  for  the  caring  one  the  worke  p'uided  yl  noe  other  pay  shall 
be  Requrd  of  any  man  prouided  he  will  pay  his  proposon  in  his 
labour  giufig  the  carpendars  a  wekes  warfig  " 

A  few  weeks  later,  we  find  in  the  records  the  following  con- 


i6 

tract,  made  between  the  town  and  Mr.  Willard,  and  duly  signed 
by  the  different  persons  whose  names  are  affixed  :  — 

"  16  of  the  io  moth  1665  It  was  this  Day  agreed  and  by  a  vnanams 
voatte  Declared  yl  for  as  much  as  god  by  his  p'uidanc  haue  setteled 
Mr  Willard  our  Rauerante  Pastor  by  sole[mn]  Ingeagment  amunst 
vs  we  do  therf  [ore]  frely  giue  him  y*  acomadatione  formerle  stated  to 
the  minestry  to  gether  with  the  house  and  all  other  apartanances 
apertayni[ng]  ther  vnto  to  him  and  his  for  eur  from  this  day  forth 
p'uided  he  do  contineue  with  vs  from  this  day  forth  till  seaue[n]  yere 
be  xpired.  But  in  cause  he  shall  se  cause  to  remoue  from  vs  be  for 
the  seauen  yere  be  xpired  it  is  ag[reed]  by  our  Rauerant  paster  one 
one  par[t]  and  the  town  one  the  other  yl  he  shall  leaue  the  holle 
acomadations  to  the  town  and  be  aloued  what  it  shall  be  judged  by 
Indaferant  men  mutally  ch[osen]  on  both  parteys  and  so  the  hous 
and  lan[d]  to  remayn  the  towns  to  despose  of  hauing  aloued  as  afor- 
sayd  for  what  improument  he  haue  made  vpon  it  T3ut  if  it  shall  pleas 
god  to  take  him  by  death  then  the  house  and  land  ...  to  his  eayers 
frely  for  euer  and  Hervnto  we  do 

enterchangebly  sett  to  our  hands  the  day  and  yer  aboue  wretten 
"  Samll  Willard  James  Parker 

William  Lakin 
James  knop 
"  In  the  name  and  with  the  consent  of  the  towne." 

In  the  summer  of  1666,  Mr.  Willard's  salary  was  again  in- 
creased ;  and  at  the  same  meeting  several  votes  are  recorded 
in  relation  to  the  meeting-house. 

"at  a  generall  town  meeting  held  26  [probably  5th  month,  1666.] 
...  It  was  agreed  and  declared  by  vote  that  our  re[verand]  Pastor 
Mr  Willard  should  haue  sixty  pounds  al[lowed]  him  for  this  year 
Ensuing:  beginning  at  the  29  of  Semptember  1666: 

"And  also  euery  inhabited,  is  hereby  ingaged  to  pay  vnto  our 
reuerent  Pastor  the  third  pt.  of  his  pption  in  merchantable  corne 
at  price  currant  and  also  to  cutt  and  Car[t]  to  his  house  and  there 
to  Cord  for  him  the  aforesaid  30  cord  of  wood  at  hue  shilling  p 
cord,  betwixt  this  &  the  25th  10  "» 

"  Att  the  same  meetinge,  Nathaniell  Lawrenc  and  Samuell  Wroods 
now  agreed  with  to  lay  the  planks  vpon  the  meeting  and  to  Do 
them  sufficiently,  and  they  are  to  haue  4  s  6  :  d  p  000  alowed  them 
the  meeting  rat 


17 

"  Att  the  same  meeting,  James  Knapp  &  Ellis  [Barron]  were 
agreed  with  to  make  2  doores  for  the  meeting  house  &  to  male  2  p 
of  stares  for  i£  and  to  lay  the  vpper  floure  for  4s  6 

"At  the  same  meating  Will  Greene  and  Joshua  Whittney  where 
cohosen,  to  he[lp]  the  Glassiar  Goodm[anJ  Grant  to  bring  vp  his 
glasse  and  to  be  allowed  for  their  tim  in  the  meeting  house  rate  " 

In  December,  1666,  "a  true  account"  in  detail  of  the  cost 
of  the  meeting-house  was  rendered,  giving  the  sum  total  of 
the  expense  up  to  that  time.  In  modern  phrase,  we  should 
say  that  the  building  committee  made  a  report,  giving  the 
items  of  the  cost,  —  although  it  was  not  signed  by  any  of  the 
members.     It  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  A  true  account  of  all  the  pticuler  soms  of  all  the  work  clone  to 
the  meeting  house  frame  and  other  charges  as   nailes  hookes  &: 
hinges  glasse  and  pulpit  et : 
Inpr  for  Thatch 

It        to  John  morsse  for  thathing  and  asetting  withs 
It       for  wages  for  those  did  attend  the  thatcher 
It       carting  clay  &   stones  for  Dawing  the  wall  & 

under  pinning 
It       the  Dawbing  of  meeting  house  walls 
It        Laths  and  nailing  on 
It       for  nailes 

It       for  nailling  on  the  clap  bords 
It        for  getting  the  sleepers  and  Laying  of  them 
It        for  planks  600  &  halfe 
It       fo  seanson  bords  700  &  5  foot 
It       for  laying  of  the  lower  flore  at  4s  6d  p  000 
It        making  Doores  and  two  payres  of  stares 
It       for  laying  40382  of  bords  on  the  gallery  floors 
It       for  shutts  for  the  windows  and  making  p'uison 

for  Mr  Willard  to  preach  till  we  haue  a  pulpitt 
It        making  a  pulpitt 
It        for  glass  for  the  windows 
It       for  200  of  bords  and  more  nails  and  more  work 

done  by  carting  &  laying  seats  &c 

50       16   10" 

The  meeting-house  was  now  built  and  ready  for  use.  I 
doubt  if  there  was  a  person  in  the  town  who  rejoiced  more  at 

3 


5  " 

-     0 

0 

1 

x3 

0 

5 

14 

8 

3 

0 

0 

4 

12s 

6 

2 

0 

0 

3 

12 

3 

7 

10 

8 

1 

4 

0 

2 

18 

6 

2 

12 

10 

1 

8 

2 

1 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

10 

0 

3 

0 

0 

3 

5 

0 

1 

8 

0 

i8 

this  result  than  Mrs.  Willard ;  and  her  congratulations  to  the 
minister  and  brethren  must  have  been  hearty  and  sincere.  In 
housewifely  language,  homely  but  expressive,  there  was  to  be 
no  more  tracking  in  of  mud  on  Sundays,  and  no  more  clean- 
ing, after  a  hard  day's  washing,  on  Mondays. 

There  was  no  dedication  of  the  building,  for  this  would 
have  been  contrary  to  the  usages  of  the  Puritans.  They 
never  indulged  in  such  ceremonies  ;  and  if  the  town  had  then 
erected  these  historical  monuments,  they  never  would  have 
had  the  exercises  of  this  afternoon.  Perhaps  some  of  you  may 
think  that  it  would  have  been  wiser  if  this  generation  had 
acted  in  the  same  way.  It  is  not  unlikely,  however,  that  Mr. 
Willard  took  a  suggestive  text  and  preached  an  appropriate 
sermon  on  the  first  Sunday  that  the  building  was  used  ;  but 
of  this  there  is  no  record.  I  hold  in  my  hand,  however,  a 
little  volume*  containing  three  sermons  which  were  preached 
there  by  Mr.  Willard  at  other  times.     It  is  entitled, — 

VSEFVL    INSTRVCTIONS 

for  a  prof  effing  People  in  Times  of  great 

SECURITY    AND    DEGENERACY: 

Delivered  in  feveral 

SERMONS 

on  Solemn  Occafions : 

By  Mr.  Samuel  Willard  Paftor  of  the  Church  of  Chrift 

at  Grot  on. 

CAMBRIDGE: 

Printed  by   Samuel    Green. 
1673. 

*  This  copy  has  an  especial  interest  for  me,  as  it  once  belonged  to  a  reverend 
ancestor  of  mine,  and  bears  his  autograph  signature  on  the  title-page.  It  came 
into  my  possession  very  lately,  after  being  out  of  the  family  for  more  than  one 
hundred  and  eighty  years. 


T9 

It  is  a  book  of  great  rarity,  —  only  three  copies  are  known 
to  be  in  existence, — -and  it  forms  the  only  relic  which  time 
has  spared  of  the  first  meeting-house  of  Groton.  It  suggests 
many  a  contrast  between  that  dreary  and  unfinished  building 
where  our  fathers  met  for  worship,  and  this  spacious  and  com- 
modious hall  where  we  are  now  assembled. 

Like  all  meeting-houses  of  that  period  of  which  we  have 
any  record,  this  structure  was  probably  square  or  nearly  so, 
and,  as  we  have  reason  to  suppose,  measured  about  forty  feet 
each  way.  It  was  two  stories  in  height,  and  had  two  doors. 
The  roof  was  thatched,  and  probably  a  steep  one.  The  front 
gallery  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  house,  so  that  the  build- 
ing must  have  been  on  the  south  side  of  the  road,  and  faced 
the  north.  This  confirms  the  theory  that  it  stood  on  Mr. 
Boutwell's  land.  There  were  also  galleries  on  the  east  and 
west  sides  of  the  building,  and  the  pulpit  was  placed  in  the 
south  end.  The  window-panes  were  small,  and  probably  of 
diamond  shape.  There  was,  we  may  suppose,  an  hour-glass 
near  the  pulpit,  which  Goodman  Allen,  the  sexton,  watched  and 
turned  when  the  sands  had  run  out.  There  was  no  ponderous 
Bible  on  the  preacher's  desk,  as  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures 
formed  no  part  of  the  regular  worship.  With  this  exception, 
the  order  of  services  on  the  Lord's  day  was  about  the  same  as 
it  is  at  the  present  time.  The  prayers  were  of  an  almost  inter- 
minable length  ;  and  the  singing,  doubtless  from  the  Bay  Psalm 
Book,  was  done  by  the  congregation.  The  only  instrument 
used  was  the  pitch-pipe  of  the  leader,  who  lined  off  the  psalms 
to  be  sung  by  the  singers.  What  was  wanting  in  harmony 
was  made  up  by  fervent  devotion.  The  Groton  Musical  As- 
sociation, I  fear,  would  find  much  to  criticise  in  the  musical 
method  of  that  clay.  However  much  it  may  have  fallen  short 
of  scientific  tests,  it  inspired  a  religious  zeal,  and  added  a 
pious  fervor  to  the  exercises. 

It  was  the  custom  in  the  early  days  of  New  England  life 
to  choose  a  committee  "  to  seat  the  meeting-house,"  as  it  was 
called;  which  meant  to  assign  the  seats  to  the  congregation 
during  a  certain  length  of  time.     This  was  done  every  year  or 


20 

two,  to  meet  the  changes  that  would  naturally  take  place  from 
death  or  other  causes.  The  seats  consisted  of  long  benches 
with  backs,  capable  of  accommodating  six  or  eight  persons. 
The  men  were  placed  on  one  side  of  the  house,  and  the  women 
on  the  other  ;  and  sometimes  the  young  folks  had  special 
places  given  to  them.  Separate  pews  for  families  had  not  yet 
come  into  use.  The  seating  committee  was  considered  an  im- 
portant one,  but  their  decisions  were  not  always  satisfactory. 
The  seats  in  the  Groton  meeting-house,  however,  were  allotted 
by  the  town  ;  although  in  the  record  of  the  meeting  of  No- 
vember ii,  1667,  there  is  a  reference  to  a  seating  committee. 
Two  public  meetings,  only  one  week  apart,  were  held  when 
they  were  assigned,  "  according  to  a  rulle  of  proportion,"  as 
the  expression  was  at  a  subsequent  meeting.  In  the  second 
Groton  meeting-house,  built  but  not  finished  in  the  year  1680, 
the  seats  were  assigned,  first,  according  to  station  or  "ofis  ;" 
secondly,  according  to  age  ;  and,  thirdly,  wealth  or  "  money." 
The  votes  at  these  two  meetings  were  as  follows:  — 

"Att  a  Town  mee[tin]g  held  24  iom  [1666.] 

"  It  was  agreed  &  by  vote  Declared  v'  all  the  Lower  seates  in  the 
new  meeting  house  that  now  is  :  should  be  deuided  six  for  men  & 
six  for  women,  And  also  the  two  front  seats  of  the  Gallery  :  the 
best  prouision  that  the  town  can  prouide  both  for  the  Minister  and 
also  for  the  people  to  sit  upon,  against  the  next  Lords  Day  come 
seauenight  and  euery  one  to  be  placed  in  their  places  as  they  shall 
continue  for  the  future  " 

"Att  a  Generall  Town  meeting  held  31th  iom  1666  fifor  better 
gceeding  in  setling  seates  for  the  women  as  well  as  for  men  It 
was  agreed  &  by  vote  Declared  that  the  ffront  Gallery  on  the  north 
side  of  the  meeting  house  should  be  devided  in  the  midle  ;  and  the 
mens  that  shall  be  placed  there  ;  their  wiues  are  to  be  placed  by 
their  husbands  as  they  are  below  " 

It  appears  from  the  following  entry  that  Mr.  Willard's  salary 
was  continued  during  another  year.  A  part  of  it  was  to  be 
paid  in  "country  pay,"  according  to  the  custom  of  that  time, 
and  the  prices  for  the  different  articles  of  food  seem  to  be 
fair.  They  are  based  on  the  silver  money  of  that  period, 
paper  currency  not  yet  having  come  into  circulation. 


21 

"  Att  a  generall  Towns  meetting  held  10th  9™  1667  It  was  agreed 
and  by  vote  Declarded  to  giue  vnto  Mr.  Willard  our  pastor  for  his 
maintenance  for  this  present  yeare  beginning  the  29th  7™  should 
haue  sixty  pounds,  to  be  paid  at  two  payments  the  one  halfe  to  be 
paid  into  to  him,  betwixt  this  and  the  Last  of  March  next:  and  the 
other  half  of  the  pay  to  be  paid  vnto  him  by  the  Last  of  September 
next  after  the  date  here[of.]  And  for  quality,  the  major  r/  of  the 
Towne  agreed  y£  one  third  p(  each  inhabitant  shloud  pay  his  third 
p'  of  his  proportion,  in  wheat  at  5s  p  bushell  or  porke  3  pence  p 
pound  or  butter  at  6  pence  p  pound  fo  .  .  .  thirds  in  Indian  corne 
at  3s  p  bushelle :  or  other  ...  at  the  price  currant  as  it  passeth  be- 
twixt .  .  .  amongst  ourseleues." 

This  meeting  seems  to  have  been  adjourned  ;  at  any  rate, 
another  meeting  was  held  the  next  day.  Timothy  Allen,  the 
sexton,  lived  near  to  the  meeting-house,  which  was,  perhaps, 
one  reason  why  he  was  chosen  to  the  office. 

"  Att  a  generall  Towns  meetting  held  nthQmth  ^67  The  towne 
agreed  with  Thimothy  Allen  to  swe[ep]  the  meetinge  house  &  to 
puide  water  ffor  the  babtizing  of  the  towns  children  from  time  to 
time,  for  this  yeare  ensuing,  and  the  sd  Thimothy  alien  is  to  haue 
twenty  shillings  allowed  him  for  his  labor  in  the  next  townes  rate 

"  At  the  same  meettinge  it  was  agreed  that  the  seats  in  the  meet- 
inge should  be  mad  in  a  plaine  and  desent  and  comly  manner,  and 
euery  seuerall  company  (that  ar  now  present  inhabitants  and  as 
they  are  now  placed  by  the  towne  and  the  Committey  formerly 
chosen,)  they  should  build  their  seates  at  their  owne  charge,  And 
all  the  fronteers  both  aboue  and  below,  shall  be  at  the  Charge  of 
the  laying  the  foundation  sills  for  the  seates  that  are  behind  them  ; 
And  what  euer  any  maior  p'  of  any  company  that  are  placed  to- 
gether in  any  seat  shall  agree  to  build  their  seats  the  minor  are 
hereby  inioyned  to  pay  with  their  neighbors  and  it  was  further 
agreed  that  whereas  the  seates  are  larger  than  the  present  inhabi- 
tants do  fill  vp  then  when  any  shall  placed  hereafter  in  any  seate  or 
seates  y'  then  they  are  hereby  enioyned  to  pay  an  equall  pportion 
to  be  &  with  those  that  haue  laid  down  the  pay  for  the  building  of 
the  seates  " 

In  order  to  keep  complete  the  historical  chain  of  facts,  I 
make  the  following  extracts  from  the  town  records,  which  com- 


22 

prise  every  thing  found  there  relating  to  the  minister  or  the 
meeting-house,  from  this  time  to  the  destruction  of  the  town : 

"The  :  8  of  the  10  moth  [1668.]  It  was  this  day  voted  by  the 
majior  part  of  the  towne  that  the  minist[er  have]  sixty  fiue  pounds 
for  this  yeare  beginning  the  twenty  nine  of  September  68  shall  shall 
[sic]  be  Raysed  the  one  halfe  vpon  the  Accomdations  and  the  other 
halfe  vpon  all  the  visible  estat  of  the  towne  will  longley  Richard 
blood  and  sum  others  declaring  the  Contrarie  by  voyt 

[1669.] 
"it was  voted  that  our  pastors  maintenance  should  be  Raysed  the 
one  halfe  vpon  the  Acomidations  and  the  other  halfe  vpon  the  visible 
estat  of  the  towne  and  the  sum  to  be  sixtie  fiue  pounds  as  followeth 
first  to  pay  30  pounds  in  Come  and  tenn  pounds  in  provision  and 
what  is  wanting  in  provision  to  be  payd  in  Corne  and  .  .  .  twenty 
fiue  pounds  to  be  payd  in  .  .  .  seasonnablelye  or  otherwayes  in 
Corne 

[December  15,  1669.] 
"  [At]  the  Same  meeting  were  chosen  [John  P]age  and  John  Nut- 
ting by  the  [town]  to  see  that  Mr  Willard  haue  maintenance  duly 
and  truly  payd  him  and  that  they  bring  the  towne  a  generall  acquit- 
ance  : 

"Agreed  with  Timothy  Allen  for  the  keeping  the  meeting  house 
cleane  for  twenty  shillings  and  to  be  payd  in  his  town  charges  " 

"At  a  generall  towne  meeting  12  of  the  11th  month  1669  agreed 
vpon  voted  and  agreed  vpon  that  all  publik  charges  excepting  the 
ministers  shold  be  raised  vpon  the  accomedations  till  the  towne  see 
good  to  repeall  it  " 

"At  a  generall  towne  meeting  Novem  1  [i]67o  It  is  this  day 
agreed  vpon  and  voted  that  Mr.  Willards  maintenance  and  all  other 
Towne  charges  shalbe  raised  for  this  present  yeare  the  one  halfe 
vpon  accomodations  and  the  other  halfe  vpon  visible  estate 

"  At  the  same^meeting  agreed  vpon  that  Mr.  Willard  should  haue 
sixty  five  pound  for  this  present  yeare  and  a  sixth  pt  shalbe  payd  in 
flesh  provision  that  is  to  say  in  merchentable  pork  beef  butter  and 
cheese  betwixt  this  and  chrismas  merchentable  wheat  five  shill  per 
bush  barley  4s  per  bush  rye  4s  pease  4s  and  Indian  cor[n]  flesh 
meat  to  be  payd  .  .  .  per  pound  and  butter  at  6  .  .  . 


23 

[December  12,  1670.] 
"At  the  same  meeting  agreed  with  Timothy  Allen  to  keep  the 
meeting  housse  cleane  for  this  following  year  for  twenty  shill —  1  00." 

"At  a  Generall  towne  meeting  held  October  16  167 1  This  day 
agreed  vpon  by  the  towne  and  voted  that  Mr.  Willard  shall  haue 
sixty  five  for  this  year  ensueing  and  that  he  shall  hau  his  wholl 
yeares  pay  by  the  latter  end  of  december  and  the  maner  of  his  pay 
as  followeth  one  third  p'  of  his  pay  in  prouision  and  english  corne 
and  those  that  cannot  pay  in  prouision  and  in  english  corne  they  are 
to  pay  their  Indian  corne  at  two  Shill  and  three  pence  the  bushell 
soe  as  to  answer  that  third  pt  of  their  pay  which  was  to  be  payd  in 
English  corn  and  prouision  and  the  rest  of  their  pay  they  are  to  pay 
at  prise  currant  (that  is)  their  Indian  corne — 3s  per  bush  wheat  at 
5' per  bushe" —  pease  Rye  barley  at  4s  per  bush  and  pork  and  beeffe 
at  3?  per  pond  and  for  the  maner  of  their  payment  to  be  raised  as 
it  was  the  last  year  the  one  half  vpon  the  accommodations  and  the 
other  vpon  the  estate 

"At  the  same  meeting  were  chusen  Sergent  william  lakin  and 
nathaniell  lawrance  and  that  they  shall  se  that  Mr  Willards  pay 
shalbe  brought  in  and  faithfully  payd  to  him  according  to  the  agree- 
ment of  the  towne" 

[February  27,  1670.] 

"Also  agreed  vpon  at  the  same  meeting  that  all  thos  seats  that 
are  yet  to  build  in  the  meeting  house  shalbe  built  in  a  generall  way 
also  a  commitee  chussen  to  treat  with  thomas  Boydon  to  build  them 
(viz)  Sergent  James  Parker  corporall  Knop  John  Pag  Ellis  Barron 
and  Nathaniell  lawrance" 

"At  a  towne  meeting  held  Sept  16  1672  It  was  agreed  vpon  and 
by  vote  declared  that  there  shalbe  a  committee  chusen  by  the  towne 
which  committee  shall  haue  power  to  seat  euery  man  according  to 
their  best  Discretion  and  that  euery  man  shall  pay  to  the  value  of 
the  seat  they  sit  in  the  seates  also  beeing  valued  according  to  their 
proportion  and  disproportion  by  this  committee  chussen  and  the 
committee  chussen  and  the  names  of  the  men  are  these 

"  Sergent  Parker  \  ( james  knop        j 

Sergent  Lakin        and  - 
Tho  :  Tarball    J  I  John  Morsse  "  J 


24 

"  Att  a  generall  Towne  meeting  held  Octo  14  1672  It  was  this 
day  agreed  vpon  and  by  vote  declared  that  Mr  Willard  shall  haue 
for  this  present  year  eighty  pound  and  the  maner  of  his  pay  as  fol- 
loweth  a  third  part  of  his  pay  a  follovveth  In  english  corne  and 
prouision  wheat  at  five  shil  p  bushell  Rye  barley  and  pease  at  four 
shill  pe  bushell  pork  and  beefe  at  3d  p  pound  and  all  such  as  can- 
not pay  his  third  part  of  his  pay  in  english  corn  and  prouision  they 
shall  pay  In  Indian  corne  at  2  shill  p  bushell  and  the  remainder  of 
his  pay  In  Indian  Corn  at  3  shill  p  bushell  his  fire  wood  also  above 
his  eighty  pound 

"  and  furder  these  persons  here  set  downe  doe  promise  and  Ingage 
to  git  Mr  Willard  hay  mowing  making  and  fetching  home  for  eight 
shilling  p  load  at  a  seasonable  time  (viz)  in  the  midle  of  Jully 


"  Sergent  Parker 
Rich=  Blood 
James  ffiske 
Tho=  Tarball  Se 
Sergent  Lakin 
Rich=  holden 


and 


Timothy  Allen 
Ellis  Barron 
Thomas  Smith 
John  Morsse 
Joseph  gilson 
Pelleg  Lawrance 


"  At  the  same  meeting  and  by  vote  declared  that  Major  Willard 
shalbe  a  fre  commoner  amongst  vs  for  feed  for  cattell  wood  and 
timber  " 

"  At  a  generall  towne  meeting  held  The  7th  of  the  9th  month  1672 
It  was  this  day  agreed  vpon  and  by  vote  declared  that  all  Inhabitans 
in  the  towne  shalbe  seated  in  the  meeting  house  according  to  a  rulle 
of  proportion  impartially  (by  the  towne  or  by  a  committee  chussenby 
the  towne)  according  to  their  best  discretion  and  the  seates  to  be 
valued  and  each  man  to  pay  according  to  the  seat  they  sit  in  and 
they  are  to  place  in  the  seats  below  in  the  body  of  the  meeting  house 
sixe  persons  in  a  seate  and  to  fill  vp  the  first  and  second  seat  first 
and  to  sit  fiv  persons  vnder  the  window  and  five  persons  in  a  seat  in 
the  front  gallery  and  eight  persons  in  a  seat  in  the  east  and  west 
gallery  —  the  persons  that  are  first  to  be  seated  are  maried  persons 
and  also  such  single  persons  as  may  and  ought  according  to  a  rulle 
of  proportion  be  seated  with  them  and  the  other  young  persons  to  be 
seated  till  they  have  filled  vp  all  the  seates  that  are  already  builded 
and  all  such  persons  as  want  seates  after  this  done  they  have  liberty 
granted  to  them  by  the  towne  at  the  sam  meeting  to  build  them  them- 


25 

selves  or  their  parents  for  them  at  their  owne  cost  and  charge  in  such 
a  place  or  places  as  are  thought  most  meete  and  convenient  by  the 
towne  and  those  that  are  to  build  them  and  the  towne  have  voted  to 
submit  to  the  coihitees  order  herein 

"  and  the  commitee  chussen  by  the  towne  at  the  same  time  the 
persons  are  as  followethe 

"  Sergent  Parker  j  james  Knop 

Richard  Blood  >-and 
Joseph  Parker   )  John  Morsse  " 

"  At  a  Generall  towne  meeting  held  Nouember  13  1672  It  was 
this  day  agreed  vpon  and  by  vote  declared  that  the  remainder  of  the 
pay  that  is  still  behind  for  the  building  the  seates  in  the  meeting 
house  shalbe  raised  in  a  generall  way  notwithstanding  all  other  actes 
done  to  the  contrary  either  by  towne  or  commitee 

"  William  Longley  Seni  descenting  " 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  select  men  no  13       72     A  Towne  rate  made 
for  the  defraying  of  seuerall  towne  depts  and  put  into  the  constables 
hand  to  gather  (viz) 
for  shuts  for  the  windows  of  the  meeting  house  1     o     o  " 

"  At  a  Generall  towne  meeting  held  J anevary  13  1672  This  day 
agreed  vpon  and  by  vot  declared  that  their  shalbe  a  commit  chossen 
for  to  seat  the  persons  in  the  meeting  house  according  to  their  best 
discretion  and  at  the  sam  time  a  commitee  chosen  and  their  names 
are  thess 

"  Maior  Willard    -\  f  Sergent  Lakin 

Sergent  Parker  >   and    •< 
James  fiske         )  (John  Lakin " 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  sellect  men  febr  26  72  Agreed  vpon  by 
the  sellect  men  that  this  division  of  land  which  is  granted  by  the 
towne  to  the  seuerall  Inhabitants  shalbe  as  followeth  by  proportion 
their  shalbe  one  acre  to  one  shill=  disbursement  in  mr  Willards  Rat 
and  we  doe  also  agree  that  of  this  land  that  was  prohibited  shalbe 
only  Indian  hill  and  the  hill  behind  Nath=  Lawrances 

"and  we  doe  furder  agree  that  euery  Inhabitant  shall  haue  an 
equall  proportion  in  these  lands  according  to  disbursements  in  mr 
Willard  rat  and  for  the  rest  of  their  proportion  shalbe  elsewheir  wheir 
it  is  most  convenient  for  them  either  Joyning  to  their  medowes  or 
of  Oake  land  on  this  sid  the  Riuer 

4 


26 

"only  Mr  Willard  shall  haue  a  proportion  to  a  forty  shilling  dis- 
bursement—  the  town  consenting  hereto" 

"  At  a  Generall  Towne  meeting  held  no :  19  1673  This  day 
agreed  vpon  and  by  vote  declared  that  Mr  Willard  rat  shalbe  raised 
ptly  by  vissible  estat  and  partly  by  accommodations  whatsoeuer  votes 
have  past  formerly  to  the  contrary  as  also  it  was  agreed  vpon  that 
euery  man  henceforward  shall  haue  their  draughts  of  land  according 
to  their  disbursements  and  those  y*  haue  them  not  shall  haue  them 
mad  vp  and  that  he  shall  haue  eighty  pound  for  this  present  yeare 
and  a  fourth  part  of  this  payment  to  be  payd  in  money  and  the 
other  sixty  pound  to  be  payd  in  all  sorts  of  graine  at  price  currant  as 
the  court  haue  determined  and  in  prouision  —  and  ten  pound  for 
his  firewood  which  is  to  be  payd  in  by  tim  preffixd  and  if  not  then 
to  pay  their  proportion  in  corne  or  prouision  and  also  agreed  vpon 
that  this  twenty  pound  in  money  is  to  be  payd  in  to  Capt  Parker 
and  to  Richard  Blood  by  the  last  of  August  or  the  first  of  septem— 
next  —  as  also  henceforward  he  shall  haue  a  quarter  of  his  payment 
in  money  yearly  " 

"  At  a  Generall  Town  meeting  held  October  20  1675  Agreed  vpon 
and  by  vote  declared  that  our  Reueraud  Pastor  shall  haue  eighty 
pound  for  this  present  year  sixty  1  in  Corne  and  prwisi  [ons]  and  forty 
pound  of  it  to  be  payd  betwixt  this  and  y  twenty  hue  of  December 
next  ensuing  and  the  other  20I  to  be  payd  in  the  spring  of  the  yeare 
vnlesse  god  by  some  speciall  prouidence  Doe  preuent  and  the  other 
20I  to  be  payd  in  money  the  last  of  august  or  the  first  of  September 
in  the  year  1676 

"  and  40  cord  of  wood  to  be  proportioned  according  to  euery  mans 
proportion  to  be  caryed  in  now  presently  " 

"At  a  Generall  Towne  meeting  held  no=  8  1675  It  was  this  day 
agreed  vpon  and  by  vote  declared  that  their  should  be  a  committe 
chussen  to  treat  with  Mr  willard  about  sending  down  to  the  generall 
court  to  Enforme  and  supplicat  to  them  that  we  may  have  payd  to  vs 
what  is  our  due  from  the  countrey  and  also  that  the  Billit  of  the  soul- 
diers  may  be  vpon  the  countreys  account  and  also  agreed  vpon  that 
if  this  would  not  doe  for  to  stand  it  out  at  law  with  them 

"  and  the  commitee  chussen  was  Cap*  Parker  Leiftenant  Lakin 
William  Longley  seni=  John  Page  " 


27 

Nearly  one-and-twenty  years  had  passed  since  the  little  set- 
tlement in  the  wilderness  was  begun,  and  it  was  fast  approach- 
ing its  majority.  The  new  town  had  enjoyed  a  moderate 
share  of  prosperity,  and  was  slowly  working  out  its  destiny. 
The  founders  were  poor  in  this  worlds  goods,  but  rich  in  faith 
and  courage.  They  had  now  tasted  the  hardships  of  frontier 
life,  but  not  as  yet  felt  the  horrors  of  savage  warfare.  The 
distant  thunders  of  a  threatening  storm  were  beginning  to  be 
heard,  and  the  occasional  flashes  put  the  early  settlers  on  their 
guard.  King  Philip's  War  had  broken  out,  and  the  outlying 
settlements  were  exposed  to  new  dangers.  The  inhabitants  of 
this  town  took  such  precautions  as  seemed  needful,  and  trusted 
in  Providence  for  the  rest.  They  were  just  beginning  to  pre- 
pare for  the  work  of  another  season,  when  a  small  band  of 
prowling  Indians  alarmed  the  town  by  pillaging  eight  or  nine 
houses  and  driving  off  some  cattle.  This  occurred  on  March  2, 
1676,  and  probably  was  a  sufficient  warning  to  send  the  inhab- 
itants to  the  garrison-houses,  whither  they  were  wont  to  flee  in 
time  of  danger.  These  places  of  refuge  were  usually  houses 
surrounded  by  a  strong  wall  of  stone  or  timber  built  Up  as  high 
as  the  eaves,  with  a  gate-way,  and  port-holes  for  the  use  of 
musketry. 

In  Groton  there  were  five  such  garrison-houses,  and  under 
their  protection  many  a  sleepless,  anxious  night  was  passed  by 
the  inmates.  Four  of  these  houses  were  very  near  each  other, 
and  the  fifth  was  nearly  a  mile  away.  The  sites  of  some  of  them 
are  well  known.  One  was  Mr.  Willard's  house,  which  stood 
near  the  High  School  ;  another  was  Captain  Parker's  house, 
which  stood  just  north  of  the  hall  in  which  we  are  now  assem- 
bled ;  and  a  third  was  John  Nutting's  house,  on  the  other  side 
of  James's  Brook.  The  fourth  was  probably  north  of  John 
Nutting's,  but  perhaps  south  of  Mr.  Willard's.  There  is  a  tra- 
dition that  one  stood  near  the  house  formerly  owned  and  occu- 
pied by  the  late  Eber  Woods,  which  would  make  the  fifth 
garrison-house  "  near  a  mile  distant  from  the  rest." 

It  is  recorded  in  the  inventory  of  his  estate,  on  file  in  the 
Middlesex  Probate    Office  at  East  Cambridge,  that  Timothy 


28 

Cooper,*  of  Groton,  was  "  Sleine  by  the  Indeins  the  Second 
day  of  march  1675-6."  Cooper  was  an  Englishman  by  birth, 
and  lived,  probably,  somewhere  between  the  present  site  of  the 
Baptist  meeting-house  and  the  beginning  of  Farmers'  Row.  It 
is  not  known  that  there  was  other  loss  of  life  at  this  time ;  but 
the  affair  was  serious  enough  to  alarm  the  inhabitants.  They 
sought  refuge  immediately  in  the  garrison-houses,  as  the 
Indians  were  lurking  in  the  neighborhood.  On  March  9,  the 
savages  again  threatened  the  beleaguered  town,  and,  by  a 
cunningly  contrived  ambush,  managed  to  entrap  four  men  at 
work,  of  whom  one  was  killed  and  one  captured,  while  the 
other  two  escaped.  This  second  assault  must  have  produced 
great  alarm  and  consternation  among  the  people  of  the  town. 
The  final  and  principal  attack,  however,  came  on  the  13th,  when 
the  enemy  appeared  in  full  body,  thought  to  be  not  less  than 
four  hundred  in  number.  The  inhabitants  at  this  time  all 
were  gathered  into  the  several  garrison-houses  for  protection. 
During  the  previous  night  the  savages  scattered  throughout 
the  town,  and  the  first  volley  of  shot  on  the  morning  of  the 
1 3th  was  the  signal  for  the  general  burning  of  the  town  ;  and  in 
this  conflagration  the  first  meeting-house  of  Groton  was  de- 
stroyed. With  its  thatched  roof  it  must  have  burned  quickly. 
In  a  very  short  time  nothing  was  left  but  a  heap  of  smok- 
ing embers.  Although  it  had  never  been  formally  dedicated 
to  religious  worship,  it  had  been  consecrated  in  spirit  to  the 
service  of  God  by  the  prayers  of  the  minister  and  the  devo- 
tion of  the  congregation.  In  this  assault  John  Nutting's  gar- 
rison was  taken  by  stratagem.  The  men  defending  it  had  been 
drawn  out  by  two  Indians  apparently  alone,  when  the  savages 
in  ambush  arose,  and  killed  one  of  the  men,  probably  John 
Nutting  himself,  and  wounded  three  others.  At  the  same 
time  the  garrison-house,  now  defenceless,  was  attacked  in  the 
rear  and  the  palisades    pulled  down,  allowing  the  enemy  to 

*  John  Cooper,  of  Weston  Hall,  England,  in  his  will,  written  November  21, 
1654,  and  proved  the  next  year,  mentions  his  "brother  Timothy  Cooper  now  in 
New  England,"  with  children.  The  will  is  on  file  in  the  Registry  of  Probate, 
London. 


29 

take  possession.  The  women  and  children,  comprising  those 
of  five  families,  escaped  to  Captain  Parker's  house,  situated 
just  this  side  of  the  brook  and  north  of  this  building. 

There  is  a  tradition,  which  is  entitled  to  credence,  that  John 
Nutting  was  killed  while  defending  his  log-house  fort  during 
King  Philip's  War.  His  wife's  name  appears  a  few  months 
later  in  the  Woburn  town  records  as  "  Widow  Nutting,"  which 
is  confirmatory  of  the  tradition. 

The  Indians  were  a  cowardly  set,  and  never  attacked  in  open 
field.  They  never  charged  on  works  in  regular  column,  but 
depended  rather  on  craft  or  cunning  to  defeat  their  adversary. 
The  red  "  hellhounds  "  —  as  they  were  sometimes  called  by  our 
pious  forefathers  —  were  always  ready  to  attack  women  and 
children,  but  afraid  to  meet  men.  The  inhabitants  of  the  town 
were  now  safely  and  securely  housed,  and  were  masters  of  the 
situation.  The  enemy  could  do  little  more  than  to  taunt  and 
jeer  them  from  time  to  time  with  insulting  remarks.  The  main 
body  of  the  savages  passed  the  following  night  in  "  an  adjacent 
valley,"  which  cannot  now  be  identified,  but  some  of  them 
lodged  in  the  garrison-house  which  they  had  taken  ;  and  the 
next  morning,  after  firing  two  or  three  volleys  at  Captain 
Parker's  house,  they  departed.  They  carried  off  a  prisoner, — 
John  Morse,  the  town-clerk,  —  who  was  ransomed  a  short  time 
afterward.  The  following  reference  to  him  in  an  undated 
letter,  written  by  the  Reverend  Thomas  Cobbet  to  the  Rev- 
erend Increase  Mather,  shows  very  nearly  the  time  of  his 
release :  — 

"  May  yc  12th  Good  wife  Diuens  and  Good  wife  Ketle  vpon  ransom 
paid,  came  into  concord.  &  vpon  like  ransom  presently  [a]fter  John 
Moss  of  Groton  &  lieftenant  Carlors  Daughter  of  Lancaster,  were 
set  at  liberty  &  9  more  w'out  ransom  :  "  (Mather  Manuscripts  in  the 
Prince  Collection,  at  the  Boston  Public  Library,  Vol.  i.,  No.  76.) 

The  ransom  for  John  Morse  was  paid  by  John  Hubbard,  of 
Boston,  and  amounted  to  "  about  five  pounds."  Morse's  peti- 
tion to  the  Council  to  have  Hubbard  reimbursed  is  found  in 
the   Massachusetts   Archives   (lxix.  48)  at  the    State   House. 


3Q 

The  population  of  Groton  at  the  time  of  its  destruction  was 
about  three  hundred  inhabitants.  The  Reverend  William 
Hubbard,  in  his  Narrative,  printed  in  the  year  1677,  esti- 
mates the  number  of  families  at  sixty,  and  five  persons  to  a 
family  may  be  considered  a  fair  average.  The  same  authority 
says  that  there  were  forty  dwelling-houses,  besides  other  build- 
ings, burned  in  this  assault,  and  only  fourteen  or  fifteen  houses 
left  standing. 

Fortunately  the  loss  of  life  or  limb  on  the  part  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  town  was  small,  and  it  is  not  known  that  more 
than  three  persons  were  killed  —  of  whom  one  was  Timothy 
Cooper,  and  another,  without  doubt,  John  Nutting  —  and  three 
wounded  ;  two  were  made  prisoners,  of  whom  one  escaped 
from  the  savages  and  reached  Lancaster,  and  the  other,  John 
Morse,  was  ransomed. 

The  lot  of  these  early  settlers  was,  indeed,  hard  and  bitter ; 
they  had  seen  their  houses  destroyed  and  their  cattle  killed, 
leaving  them  nothing  to  live  on.  Their  alternative  now  was 
to  abandon  the  plantation,  which  they  did  with  much  sadness 
and  sorrow.  The  settlement  was  broken  up,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants scattered  in  different  directions  among  their  friends 
and  kindred.  During  the  next  autumn,  John  Monaco,  —  or 
one-eyed  John,  as  he  was  sometimes  called,  —  the  chief  leader 
in  the  assault,  was  brought  to  the  gallows  in  Boston,  where  he 
suffered  the  extreme  penalty  of  the  law. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1678,  just  two  years  after  the  attack, 
the  old  settlers  returned  to  re-establish  the  town.  Undaunted 
by  their  bitter  experience,  they  came  back  to  begin  life  anew 
in  the  wilderness,  with  all  its  attendant  hardships.  It  does  not 
appear  that  the  inhabitants  were  molested  by  the  Indians  dur- 
ing this  period  to  any  great  degree,  but  they  were  by  no  means 
leading  lives  of  ease  or  security.  At  times  troops  were  sta- 
tioned here  by  the  Colonial  authorities  for  the  protection  of 
the  town  ;  and  the  orders  and  counter-orders  to  the  small  gar- 
rison tell  too  well  that  danger  was  threatening.  In  the  mean 
while,  King  William's  War  broke  out ;  and  this  time  the  enemy 
had  material  and  sympathetic  aid  from  the  French  in  Canada. 


3i 

The  second  attack  on  the  town  came  in  the  summer  of  1694, 
and  the  accounts  of  it  I  prefer  to  give  in  the  words  of  contem- 
poraneous writers.     Sometimes  there  are  discrepancies  in  such 
accounts  ;  but,  as  a  whole,  they  constitute  the  best  authority. 
Cotton  Mather,  in  his  *'  Magnalia,"  thus  refers  to  it :  — 

"  Nor  did  the  Storm  go  over  so  :  Some  Drops  of  it  fell  upon  the 
Town  of  Groton,  a  Town  that  lay,  one  would  think,  far  enough  off 
the  Place  where  was  the  last  Scene  of  the  Tragedy. 

"On  yuly  27.  [1694,]  about  break  of  Day  Groton  felt  some  sur- 
prizing Blows  from  the  Indian  Hatchets.  They  began  their  Attacks 
at  the  House  of  one  Lieutenant  Lakin,  in  the  Out-skirts  of  the  Town; 
but  met  with  a  Repulse  there,  and  lost  one  of  their  Crew.  Never- 
theless, in  other  Parts  of  that  Plantation,  (where  the  good  People 
had  been  so  tired  out  as  to  lay  clown  their  Military  Watch)  there 
were  more  than  Twenty  Persons  killed,  and  more  than  a  Dozen  car- 
ried away.  Mr.  Ger shorn  Hobart,  the  Minister  of  the  Place,  with 
part  of  his  Family,  was  Remarkably  preserved  from  falling  into  their 
Hands,  when  they  made  themselves  the  Masters  of  his  House ;  though 
they  Took  Two  of  his  Children,  whereof  the  one  was  Killed,  and  the 
other  some  time  after  happily  Rescued  out  of  his  Captivity."  (Book 
vii.  page  86.) 

Charlevoix,  a  French  missionary  in  Canada,  gives  from  his 
own  standpoint  another  version,  as  follows  :  — 

"The  Abenaqui  chief  was  Taxous,  already  celebrated  for  many 
exploits,  and  commendable  attachment  to  our  interests.  This  brave 
man,  not  satisfied  with  what  he  had  just  so  valiantly  achieved,  chose 
forty  of  his  most  active  men,  and,  after  three  days'  march,  by  mak- 
ing a  long  circuit,  arrived  at  the  foot  of  a  fort  [at  Groton]  near 
Boston,  and  attacked  it  in  broad  clay.  The  English  made  a  better 
defence  than  they  did  at  Pescadoue'  [Piscataqua].  Taxous  had 
two  of  his  nephews  killed  by  his  side,  and  himself  received  more 
thun  a  dozen  musket  balls  in  his  clothes,  but  he  at  last  carried  the 
place,  and  then  continued  his  ravages  to  the  very  doors  of  the 
capital."     ("  History  of  New  France,"  iv.  257,  Shea's  edition.) 

The  following  reference  to  the  assault  is  found  in  the  report, 
made  October  26,  1694,  by  M.  Champigny  to  the  Minister 
Pontchartrain.     The  original  document  is  in  the  Archives  of 


32 

the  Marine  and  Colonies  at  Paris  ;  and  I  am  indebted  to  Mr. 
Francis  Parkman,  the  distinguished  historian,  for  the  copy 
of  it. 

"  These  Indians  did  not  stop  there  ;  four  parties  of  them  have 
since  been  detached,  who  have  been  within  half  a  day's  journey  of 
Boston  [/.  <?.,  at  Groton],  where  they  have  killed  or  captured  more 
than  sixty  persons,  ravaged  and  pillaged  every  thing  they  found, 
which  has  thrown  all  the  people  into  such  consternation  that  they 
are  leaving  the  open  country  to  seek  refuge  in  the  towns." 

A  "  Relation  "  of  an  expedition  by  Villieu  also  mentions  the 
assault.  A  copy  of  the  paper  is  found  in  the  Massachusetts 
Archives  at  the  State  House,  in  the  volume  marked  "  Docu- 
ments collected  in  France,"  iv.  251.  The  writer  gives  the 
date  of  the  attack  some  days  later  than  is  usually  assigned. 
He  says :  — 

"  On  the  30,  the  Indians  of  the  Penobscot,  not  having  taken  as 
many  prisoners  and  as  much  booty  as  those  of  the  Kennebec,  be- 
cause they  had  not  found  enough  to  employ  themselves  ;  at  the 
solicitation  of  Villieu  and  Taxous,  their  chief,  some  fifty  of  them 
detached  themselves  to  follow  this  last  person,  who  was  piqued  at 
the  little  that  had  been  done.  They  were  joined  by  some  of  the 
bravest  warriors  of  the  Kennebec,  to  go  on  a  war  party  above  Bos- 
ton to  break  heads  by  surprise  (casser  des  tetes  a  la  surprise),  after 
dividing  themselves  into  several  squads  of  four  or  five  each,  which 
cannot  fail  of  producing  a  good  effect." 

Judge  Sevvall,  in  his  Diary,  printed  in  the  Collections  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  writes :  — 

"Friday,  July  27.  Groton  set  upon  by  the  Indians,  21  persons 
kill'd,  13  captivated,  13  badly  wounded.  About  9.  night,  Mr. 
Lodowick  comes  to  Boston.  Between  10.  and  11.  there  is  an  Alarm 
through  the  Town  kept  up  till  near  day-break.  Mr.  Brattle  was 
arriv'd  at  Col.  Shrimpton's,  then  he  told  me  of  Mr.  Lodowick's  un- 
happiness  in  coming  just  then.  During  the  Alarm,  Mr.  Willard's 
little  daughter  Sarah  dies,  buried  on  Sabbath-day  a  little  before 
Sunset."     (v.  fifth  series,  391.) 

The  Reverend  John  Pike  makes  the  following  reference  to 
the  assault,  in  his  Journal,  printed  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
same  Society,  for  September,  1875  :  — 


33 

"July  27.  The  enemy  fell  upon  Groton  abl  day-break,  killed  22 
persons  &  Captivated  13."     (Page  128.) 

Governor  Hutchinson,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,"  published  during  the  following  century, 
writes :  — 

"  Having  crossed  Merrimack,  on  the  27th  of  July  [1694,]  they  fell 
upon  Groton,  about  40  miles  from  Boston.  They  were  repulsed  at 
Lakin's  garrison  house,  but  fell  upon  other  houses,  where  the  people 
were  off  their  guard,  and  killed  and  carried  away  from  the  vicinity 
about  forty  persons.  Toxus's  two  nephews  were  killed  by  his  side, 
and-he  had  a  dozen  bullets  through  his  blanket,  according  to  Char- 
levoix, who  adds,  that  he  carried  the  fort  or  garrison  and  then  went 
to  make  spoil  at  the  gates  of  Boston  ;  in  both  which  facts,  the 
French  account  is  erroneous."     (ii.  82.) 

In  this  assault  the  loss  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants  was 
considerably  greater  than  when  the  town  was  destroyed  in  the 
former  attack.  It  is  said  that  the  scalps  of  the  unfortunate 
victims  were  given  to  Count  de  Frontenac,  Governor  of  Can- 
ada. It  is  too  late  now  to  give  the  names  of  all  the  sufferers, 
but  a  few  facts  in  regard  tojthem  may  be  gathered  from  frag- 
mentary sources.  The  families  that  suffered  the  severest  lived 
for  the  most  part  in  the  same  general  neighborhood,  which 
was  near  the  site  of  the  first  meeting-house.  Lieutenant 
William  Lakin's  house,  where  the  fight  began,  was  situated  in 
the  vicinity  of  Chicopee  Row. 

The  following  list  of  casualties,  in  part  conjectural,  is  given 
as  an  approximation  of  the  loss  sustained  by  the  town  :  — 

Killed.  Captured. 

John    Longley's   family 7  3 

Rev.  Mr.  Hobart's    „ 1  1 

John  Shepley's  „ 4  ?  1 

James  Parker,  Jr.'s    „ 2  3  ? 

Alexander  Rouse's    „ 2  ?  1 

Mr.  Gershom  Hobart,  the  minister,  whose  house  was  cap- 
tured in  this  assault,  lived  where  the  Baptist  meeting-house 
now  stands.  One  of  his  boys  was  killed,  and  another,  Ger- 
shom, Jr.,  was  carried  off.     There  is  a  tradition  extant  that 

5 


34 

a  third  child  was  concealed  under  a  tub  in  the  cellar,  and  thus 
saved  from  the  savages.  Judge  Sewall  writes  in  his  Diary, 
under  the  date  of  May  I,  1695,  that  — 

"  Mr.  Hobarls  son  Gershom  is  well  at  a  new  Fort  a  days  Jour- 
ney above  Nerigawag  [Norridgewock],  Masters  name  is  Nassacom- 
bewit,  a  good  Master,  and  Mistress.  Master  is  chief  Captain,  now 
Bambazeen  is  absent." 

It  is  not  known  exactly  when  he  was  rescued  from  captiv- 
ity, but  probably  not  long  afterwards.  The  inscription  on  the 
Shepley  monument  says  that  "  the  Indians  massacred  all 
the  Sheples  in  Groton  save  a  John  Sheple  16  years  old  who  the 
carried  captive  to  Canada  and  kept  him  4  years,  after  which 
he  returned  to  Groton  and  from  him  descended  all  the  Sheples 
or  Shepleys  in  this  Vicinity,"  but  there  is  no  record  to  show 
how  many  there  were  in  this  family.  Mr.  Butler,  in  his  History 
(page  97),  makes  the  same  statement,  but  does  not  mention  any 
number.  In  this  list  it  is  placed  at  five,  which  is  conjectural. 
Shepley  lived  near  where  the  Martin's  Pond  road  starts  off 
from  the  North  Common.  The  knowledge  which  the  boy  John 
obtained  of  their  language  and  customs  while  a  prisoner  among 
the  Indians  was  of  much  use  to  him  in  after-life.  Tradition 
relates  that,  when  buying  furs  and  skins  of  them,  he  used  to  put 
his  foot  in  one  scale  of  the  balance  instead  of  a  pound  weight. 
In  the  summer  of  1704,  while  he  and  thirteen  other  men  were 
reaping  in  a  field  at  Groton,  they  were  attacked  by  about 
twenty  Indians.  After  some  skirmishing,  Shepley  and  one  of 
his  comrades,  Butterfield  by  name,  succeeded  in  killing  one  of 
the  assailants,  for  which  act  they  each  were  allowed  four 
pounds  by  the  Government.  He  was  the  direct  ancestor  of 
the  late  Honorable  Ether  Shepley,  formerly  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Maine,  and  of  the  late 
General  George  F.  Shepley,  formerly  a  Justice  of  the  Circuit 
Court  of  the  First  Circuit  of  the  United  States. 

A  petition  to  the  General  Court,  dated  May  31,  1699,  and 
signed  by  Josiah  Parker,  says  that  "James  Parker  Junr  Brother 
to  yor  humble  Pet".r  was  Killed  with  his  Wife,  several  of  his 


35 

Children  also  were  then  carryed  away  Captive."  The  number 
of  these  children  is  put  at  three,  which  is  also  conjectural. 
The  site  of  Parker's  house  is  unknown.  The  late  Reverend 
James  D.  Farnsworth,  in  a  manuscript  account  of  William 
Longley,  now  in  the  library  of  the  New  England  Historic, 
Genealogical  Society,  says  that  "  two  of  his  neighbors  named 
Rouse  "  were  killed  in  the  same  massacre.  Alexander  Rouse 
lived  in  the  neighborhood,  and  this  reference  is  to  his  family. 
There  was  one  "  Tamasin  Rouce  of  Grotten"  received  January 
17,  1698-99,  on  board  the  "  Province  Galley"  at  Casco  Bay  ; 
and  she,  doubtless,  was  a  daughter  of  Alexander.  (Massachu- 
setts Archives,  Ixx.  399.)  Two  commissioners  had  been  sent 
to  Casco  Bay,  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Indians,  and 
to  bring  away  the  captives.  One  of  the  commissioners  "  took 
certain  Minutes  of  Remarkable  Tilings  from  some  of  the  Cap- 
tives," and  Cotton  Mather,  in  his  "  Magnalia,"  gives  his  readers 
what  he  calls  "  a  Taste  of  them."  Mather  speaks  of  the  little 
girl,  and  says  that  — 

"  Assacombuit  sent  Thomasin  Rouse,  a  child  of  about  Ten  Years 
old,  unto  the  Water-side  to  carry  something.  The  Child  cried  :  He 
took  a  Stick  and  struck  her  down  :  She  lay  for  Dead  :  He  took  her 
up  and  threw  her  into  the  Water:  Some  Indians  not  far  off  ran  in 
and  fetch'd  her  out.  The  Child  we  have  now  brought  Home  with 
us."     (Book  vii.  page  95.) 

Among  the  "  Nams  of  thos  Remaining  Still  in  hands  of 
the  french  at  Canada,"  found  in  a  document  at  the  State 
House,  are  those  of  "  Lidey  Langly  gerl  "  and  "Jn°  Shiply 
boy."  In  this  list  the  residences  of  both  these  children  are 
incorrectly  written,  Lydia's  being  given  as  Dover,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  John's,  as  Oyster  River.  The  name  of  Thomas 
Drew  appears  in  the  same  list  as  of  Groton,  which  is  a  mis- 
take, as  he  was  of  Oyster  River.  (Massachusetts  Archives, 
xxxviii.  A  2.) 

This  expedition  against  Groton  was  planned  in  part  by  the 
Indians  at  a  fort  called  Amsaquonte  above  Norridgwock,  in 
Maine.  It  was  arranged  in  the  plan  of  operations  that  also 
Oyster  River — now  Durham,  New  Hampshire  —  should  be 


36 

attacked  on  the  way  ;  and  the  assault  on  that  town  was  made 
July  1 8,  nine  days  before  the  one  on  Groton.  At  Oyster 
River  more  than  ninety  persons  were  either  killed  or  captured  ; 
the  prisoners  from  the  two  towns  appear  to  have  been  taken 
to  Maine,  where  they  were  thrown  considerably  together  dur- 
ing their  captivity.  Governor  William  Stoughton  issued  a  proc- 
lamation, January  21,  1695,  wherein  he  refers  to  the  "tragical 
outrages  and  barberous  murders  "  at  Oyster  River  and  Groton. 
He  says  that  several  of  the  prisoners  taken  at  these  places 
"are  now  detained  by  the  said  Indians  at  Amarascoggin  and 
other  adjoining  places."  (Documents  relating  to  the  Colonial 
History  of  New  York,  ix.  613,  614.) 

Hezekiah  Miles,  alias  Hector,  a  friendly  Indian,  at  one  time 
a  prisoner  in  the  enemy's  hands,  made  a  deposition  before  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  and  Council,  at  Boston,  May  31,  1695, 
stating  — 

"that  in  the  month  of  July  1694.  there  was  a  gathering  of  the  Indi- 
ans at  the  said  new  Fort  [Amsaquonte]  and  preparations  to  go  forth 
to  war,  and  that  two  or  three  days  before  they  intended  to  set  out,  they 
kild  and  boyld  several  dogs,  and  held  a  Feast,  where  was  present 
Egeremet,  Bomaseen,  Warumbee,  &  Ahasombamet  with  divers  others, 
of  the  chief  among  them,  they  discoursed  of  falling  upon  Oyster  River 
and  Groton  ;  and  Bomaseen  was  to  command  one  of  the  Company, 
&  the  day  before  they  intended  to  set  forth,  myself  with  ffour  In- 
dians more  were  despatched  away  to  Canada  with  a  Letter  from 
the  Fryar  and  were  upon  our  Voyage  thither  and  back  again  about 
ffourt"  days  and  brought  down  about  two  barrels  of  powder,  shot 
proportionable  &  some  fire  armes.  About  the  time  of  our  return, 
the  Indians  came  in  after  the  mischief  done  at  Oyster  River  & 
Groton,  and  in  particular,  I  saw  Bomaseen  in  his  Canoo,  which  was 
well  laden,  there  was  two  English  Captives,  some  scalps,  and  a  large 
pack  of  Plunder  brought  in  that  Canoo,  and  Bomaseen  two  or  three 
days  after  his  return  home  went  away  to  Canada."  (Massachusetts 
Archives,  viii.  39.) 

Ann  Jenkins,  in  a  deposition  given  June  11,  1695,  testifies 
that  she  was  captured  July  18,  1694,  at  Oyster  River,  and 
that  she,  — 


37 

"  with  nine  Captives  more  were  Carried  up  to  penecook  &  were 
Left  with  Three  Indians  &  that  party  went  to  Groaten  Bomazeen 
being  their  Commander.  In  nine  oaves  they  returned  &  brought 
twelve  Captives  &  from  thence  with  their  Cannoes  sometimes  a 
float  &  sometimes  Carried  untill  that  we  Came  to  Norridgeawocke 
which  tooke  us  fifteen  dayes  &  staied  about  two  months  there  then 
dispersed  into  the  woods  twoe  or  thre  families  in  a  place  &  kept 
Removeing  toe  and  froe  staieing  about  a  week  in  a  place  untill  they 
brought  vss  down  to  pemaquid  &  delivered  vss  to  Cap1  March." 
(Massachusetts  Archives,  viii.  40.) 

I  come  now  to  the  sad  story  of  the  Longley  family,  which  is 
commemorated  by  one  of  the  monuments  dedicated  to-day. 
William  and  Deliverance  Longley  were  living,  with  their  eight 
children,  on  a  small  farm  perhaps  a  mile  and  a  quarter  from 
this  hall,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Hollis  road.  Their  house 
was  built  of  hewn  logs,  and  was  standing  at  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century.  The  old  cellar,  with  its  well-laid  walls, 
was  distinctly  visible  forty  years  ago,  and  traces  of  it  could  be 
seen  even  to  the  present  time.  On  the  fatal  morning  of  July 
27,  1694,  the  massacre  of  this  family  was  committed.  The 
savages  appeared  suddenly,  coming  from  the  other  side  of  the 
Merrimack  River,  and  began  the  attack  at  Lieutenant  Wil- 
liam Lakin's  house,  where  they  were  repulsed  with  the  loss 
of  one  of  their  number.  They  followed  it  up  by  assaulting 
other  houses  in  the  same  neighborhood.  They  made  quick 
work  of  it,  and  left  the  town  as  speedily  as  they  came.  With 
the  exception  of  John  Shepley's  house,  it  is  not  known  that 
they  destroyed  any  of  the  buildings  ;  but  they  pillaged  them 
before  they  departed.  They  carried  off  thirteen  prisoners, 
mostly  children,  who  must  have  retarded  their  march.  There 
is  a  tradition  that  early  in  the  morning  of  the  attack  the  Indi- 
ans turned  Longley's  cattle  out  of  the  barn-yard  into  the  corn- 
field, and  then  lay  in  ambush.  The  stratagem  had  the  desired 
effect:  Longley  rushed  out  of  the  house,  unarmed,  in  order 
to  drive  the  cattle  back,  when  he  was  murdered,  and  all  his 
family  either  killed  or  captured.     The  bodies  of  the  slain  were 


38 

buried  in  one  grave  a  few  rods  northwest  of  the  house.  A 
small  apple-tree  growing  over  the  spot,  and  a  stone  lying  even 
with  the  ground,  for  many  years  furnished  the  only  clew  to 
the  final  resting-place  of  this  unfortunate  family,  but  these 
have  now  disappeared. 

William  Longley  was  town-clerk  in  the  year  1687,  and  also 
from  1692  till  his  death  in  1694  ;  and,  only  one  week  before  he 
was  killed,  he  had  made  entries  in  the  town  records.  His 
father,  William  Longley,  Sen.,  had  also  been  town-clerk  dur- 
ing the  years  1666  and  1667,  and  died  November  29,  1680. 
The  father  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  town,  as  well 
as  the  owner  of  a  thirty-acre  right  in  the  original  Groton  plan- 
tation. Lydia,  John,  and  Betty  were  the  names  of  the  three 
children  carried  off  by  the  savages,  and  taken  to  Canada. 
Lydia  was  sold  to  the  French,  and  placed  in  the  Congregation 
of  Notre  Dame,  a  convent  in  Montreal,  where  she  embraced 
the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  and  died,  July  20,  1758,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  84  years.  Betty  died  soon  after  her  capture, 
from  hunger  and  exposure  ;  and  John,  the  third  child,  remained 
with  the  savages  for  more  than  four  years,  when  he  was  ran- 
somed and  brought  away,  much  against  his  own  will.  At  one 
time  during  his  captivity  he  was  on  the  verge  of  starving, 
when  an  Indian  kindly  gave  him  a  dog's  foot  to  gnaw,  which 
for  the  time  appeased  his  hunger.  He  was  known  among  his 
captors  as  John  Augary.  After  he  came  home,  his  sister 
Lydia  wrote  from  Canada,  urging  him  to  abjure  the  Protestant 
religion  ;  but  he  remained  true  to  his  early  faith. 

Their  grandmother,  the  widow  of  Benjamin  Crispe,  made  her 
will  April  13,  1698,  which  was  admitted  to  probate  on  the  28th 
of  the  following  December ;  and  in  it  she  remembered  these 
absent  children  as  follows:  — 

"  I  give  and  bequeath  Vnto  my  three  Grand-Children  yl  are  in 
Captivity  if  they  returne  Vizdt  three  books  one  of  ym  a  bible  another 
a  Sermon  booke  treating  of  faith  and  the  other  a  psalme  book." 

The  old  lady  herself  had  certainly  read  the  "  Sermon  booke 
treating  of  faith,"  and  it  must  have  been  to  her  a  great  conso- 


39 

lation  in  her  trials.  She  did  not  know  at  this  time  that  her 
grand-daughter  was  a  convert  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith. 
The  knowledge  of  this  fact  would  have  been  to  her  an  afflic- 
tion scarcely  less  than  the  massacre  of  her  daughter's  family. 

John  Longley  returned  about  the  time  that  his  grandmother 
died.  The  following  paper  signed  by  him  is  found  among  the 
Knox  manuscripts,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  New  England 
Historic,  Genealogical  Society  :  — 

"John  Longley  of  Groton  of  about  fifty  four  Years  of  age  Testi- 
fyes  &  Saith  That  he  was  Taken  Captive  by  the  Indians  at  Groton 
in  July  1694  and  Lived  in  Captivity  with  them  More  than  four  Years  ; 
And  the  Two  Last  years  and  an  half  at  Penobscot  as  Servant  to 
Madocawando  of  Sd  Penobscot  And  he  was  always  Accounted  as 
Chief  or  One  of  yf  Chief  Sachems  or  Captains  among  the  Indians 
there  and  I  have  Often  Seen  the  Indians  Sitting  in  Council  When 
he  always  Sat  as  Chief:  And  Once  in  perticuler  I  Observed  a 
present  was  made  him  of  a  Considerable  Number  of  Skins  of 
Considerable  Vallue  As  an  Acknowledgement  of  his  Superiority. 

"  John  Longley. 

"  Midd*  SS.     Groton  July  24th  1736. 

"Deacon  John  Longley  above  named  personally  appearing  Made 
Oath  To  ye  Truth  of  the  above  written  Testimony. 
"  Before  me  Benja  Prescott  Jus!  of  peace  " 

(Knox  Manuscripts,  Waldo  Papers,  L.  13.) 

In  the  month  of  July,  1877,  I  was  in  Montreal,  where  I  pro- 
cured, through  the  kindness  of  the  Mother  Superior  at  the 
Congregation  of  Notre  Dame,  a  copy  of  the  record  of  Lydia's 
baptism,  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation  :  — 

"  On  Tuesday,  April  24,  1696,  the  ceremony  of  baptism  was  per- 
formed on  an  English  girl,  named  Lydia  Longley,  who  was  born 
April  14,  1674,  at  Groton,  a  few  miles  from  Boston  in  New  England. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  William  Longley  and  Deliverance  Crisp, 
both  Protestants.  She  was  captured  in  the  month  of  July,  16S0 
[1694?]  by  the  Abdnaqui  Indians,  and  has  lived  for  the  past  month 
in  the  house  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Congregation  of  Notre  Dame. 
The  godfather  was  M.  Jacques  Leber,  merchant;  the  godmother 
was  Madame  Marie  Madeleine  Dupont,  wife  of  M.  de  Maricourt. 


40 

Ecuyer,  Captain  of  a  company  of  Marines  :  she  named  this  English 

girl  Lydia  Madeleine. 

[Signed]     "Lydia  Madeleine  Longley, 

Madeleine  Dupont, 

Leber, 

M.  Caille,  acting  curateV 

[The  date  of  capture  in  this  record  is  written  out  in  full,  and  the  omission  of 
one  word  would  cause  the  mistake ;  i.e.,  "  mil  six  cent  quatre-vingt,"  omitting 
quatorze.\ 

I  now  pass  over  the  period  of  one  generation,  leaving  be- 
hind Indian  attacks  and  massacres,  and  approach  a  subject 
with  pleasanter  associations. 

One  day  near  the  close  of  winter,  in  a  house  at  the  other  end 
of  the  street,  there  was  considerable  commotion  and  excite- 
ment when  the  announcement  was  made  that  "  it  was  a  boy." 
It  was  in  the  family  of  Benjamin  and  Abigail  (Oliver)  Prescott, 
and  it  was  on  the  20th  of  February,  1726,  according  to  the  old 
style  of  reckoning.  In  due  course  of  time,  the  baby  was  chris- 
tened William,  and  his  earliest  experiences,  we  may  venture 
to  say,  were  much  like  those  of  other  little  ones.  Of  course 
all  the  women  and  children  in  the  neighborhood  came  in  to 
see  the  young  pilgrim,  and  pinched  his  nose  and  punched  his 
cheeks  to  their  hearts'  content.  He  came  of  a  sturdy  stock, 
and  his  family  name  was  at  that  time  the  most  distinguished 
one  in  the  annals  of  Groton. 

Jonas,  the  progenitor,  was  the  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Platts) 
Prescott,  and  was  born  at  Lancaster,  in  June,  1648.  He  was 
a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  owned  the  mill  in  the  south  part  of 
Groton,  now  within  the  limits  of  Harvard.  It  is  said  that  a 
grant  of  land  made  by  the  town,  about  the  year  1675,  when  it 
was  much  in  need  of  a  blacksmith,  induced  him  to  remove 
nearer  to  the  village.  He  built  a  house  and  shop  on  the  lot, 
which  was  situated  on  the  easterly  side  of  James's  Brook,  per- 
haps a  third  of  a  mile  south  of  Lawrence  Academy.  He 
bought  lands,  until  he  became  one  of  the  largest  owners  of  real 
estate  in  the  town. 

Jonas  married,  December  14,  1672,  Mary,  daughter  of  John 


4* 

and  Mary  (Draper)  Loker,  of  Sudbury,  and  they  had  four  sons 
and  eight  daughters.  Two  of  the  sons  died  young;  but  all  the 
other  children  lived  to  grow  up  and  have  families.  The  eight 
daughters,  with  one  exception,  married  Groton  men,  and  were 
blessed  with  a  numerous  offspring.  Jonas  filled  many  impor- 
tant positions  in  the  town,  and  represented  it  in  the  General 
Court  during  the  years  1699  and  1705  ;  he  died  December  31, 
1723,  aged  75  years. 

His  youngest  son,  Benjamin,  was  a  man  of  strong  character 
and  commanding  appearance  ;  and,  like  his  father,  filled  many 
places  of  usefulness.  He  married,  June  II,  1718,  Abigail, 
daughter  of  the  Honorable  Thomas  and  Mary  (Wilson)  Oliver, 
of  Cambridge,  and  they  had  three  sons  and  four  daughters. 
He  lived  near  the  old  homestead,  having  built  a  house  a  little 
easterly  of  his  father's,  where  he  died,  August  3,  1735,  at  the 
age  of  42  years,  after  a  short  illness  caused  by  over-exertion 
while  haying.  His  three  sons  were  all  remarkable  men,  and 
exerted  much  influence  in  shaping  public  affairs  during  an 
important  period. 

William,  the  second  son  of  Benjamin,  settled  on  a  large 
estate  owned  by  his  father,  in  that  part  of  Groton  called  the 
Gore,  now  included  in  Pepperell.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
expedition  sent  in  the  year  1755  to  remove  the  French  Neut- 
rals from  Nova  Scotia,  and  a  colonel  of  Minute  Men  enrolled 
in  this  neighborhood  in  the  year  1774.  As  commander  of  the 
American  forces  at  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  June  17,  1775, 
his  name  will  never  be  forgotten.  In  subsequent  years,  at 
various  times  he  filled  the  offices  of  town-clerk,  selectman, 
and  representative  in  the  General  Court.  He  was  the  father 
of  William  Prescott,  the  lawyer  and  jurist,  and  the  grand- 
father of  William  H.  Prescott,  the  distinguished  historian. 
He  died  October  13,  1795,  aged  69  years,  and  was  buried  at 
Pepperell ;  his  widow  died  October  21,  1S21,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  88  years. 

Certain  captious  critics  have  tried  in  modern  times  to  deprive 
Colonel  Prescott  of  the  distinction  of  commanding  the  Amer- 
ican forces  at  Bunker  Hill.     They  never  would  have  attempted 

6 


42 

this  act  of  injustice  when  the  old  hero  was  alive  ;  for  then  he 
had  too  many  soldiers  who  had  fought  under  him,  and  had  seen 
him  giving  orders  on  that  eventful  day,  to  allow  the  fact  to  be 
disputed.  It  was  the  universal  testimony  of  all  his  military 
comrades,  as  I  believe  it  will  be  of  impartial  history,  that  the 
commandership  of  that  battle  belongs  to  him.  The  circum- 
stances surrounding  the  army  in  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tion were  such  that  there  may  have  been  but  little  formality  in 
assigning  a  command  ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  Prescott 
received  an  order  from  any  officer  on  that  memorable  field, 
while  he  himself  acted  under  orders  from  General  Ward. 

Besides  the  three  spots  marked  by  the  monuments  dedicated 
to-day,  there  are  other  places  in  this  town  that  might  well  be 
designated  in  a  special  manner;  and  I  trust  that  the  time  is 
not  far  distant  when  they  also  shall  have  their  commemorative 
stones. 

The  site  of  the  second  meeting-house,  near  the  Chaplin 
school-house,  is  one  of  these  places. 

Another  spot  well  deserving  to  be  marked  with  a  memorial 
stone  is  the  place  from  which  Sarah,  John,  and  Zechariah 
Tarbell  were  carried  off  by  the  Indians,  on  June  20,  1707. 
They  were  children  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Wood)  Tarbell, 
who  had  a  large  family,  and  lived  on  Farmer's  Row,  near  Mr. 
James  Lawrence's  house.  Sarah  was  a  girl  thirteen  years  of 
age,  John,  a  lad  of  eleven  years,  and  Zechariah,  only  seven,  at 
the  time  when  they  were  taken  by  the  savages.  They  were 
near  kindred  of  the  Longley  family,  who  had  been  massacred 
thirteen  years  before. 

The  story  of  their  capture  and  captivity  is  a  singular  one, 
and  sounds  like  a  romance.  They  were  picking  cherries  early 
one  evening,  —  so  tradition  relates,  —  and  were  taken  by  the 
Indians  before  they  had  time  to  get  down  from  the  tree.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  date  of  capture,  according  to 
the  new  style  of  reckoning,  was  July  1,  when  cherries  would 
be  ripe  enough  to  tempt  the  appetite  of  youthful  climbers. 
These  children  were  carried  to  Canada,  where,  it  would  seem, 
they  were  treated  kindly,  as  no   inducement  afterward  was 


43 

strong  enough  to  make  them  return  to  their  old  home.  The 
girl,  Sarah,  was  sold  to  the  French,  and  placed  in  a  convent  at 
Lachine,  near  Montreal ;  but  what  became  of  her  subsequently 
I  am  unable  to  state. 

Thomas  Tarbell,  the  father  of  these  children,  made  his  will 
September  26,  171 5,  which  was  admitted  to  probate  six  weeks 
later.  After  making  certain  bequests  to  different  members  of 
his  family,  he  says  :  — 

"  all  the  rest  &  residue  of  my  Reall  Estate  I  give  to  be  Equally 
divided  between  my  three  children,  John,  Zachery,  &  Sarah  Tar- 
bell, upon  their  return  from  Captivity,  or  In  Proportion  unto  any  of 
them  that  shall  return,  &  the  rest,  or  the  parts  belonging  to  them 
that  do  not  return,  shall  be  Equally  divided  among  the  rest  of  my 
children." 

In  the  summer  of  1877  I  visited  Montreal,  as  I  have  before 
mentioned,  where  I  procured,  through  the  kindness  of  the 
Mother  Superior  at  the  Congregation  of  Notre  Dame,  the 
record  of  Sarah's  baptism,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
translation  :  — 

"On  Monday,  July  23,  1708,  the  ceremony  of  baptism  was  per- 
formed on  Sarah  Tarbell,  who  was  born  at  Groton  in  New  England, 
October  9,  1693.  Her  parents  were  Thomas  Tarbell  and  Elizabeth 
Wood,  both  Protestants,  and  she  was  baptized  by  the  minister  shortly 
after  her  birth.  Having  been  taken  by  the  savages  on  Monday, 
June  20,  1707,  she  was  brought  to  Canada;  she  has  since  been 
sold,  and  has  lived  with  the  Sisters  of  the  Congregation  of  Notre 
Dame,  established  at  Lachine,  where  she  abjured  her  religion  on 
May  1.  Her  godfather  was  M.  Jacques  Urbain  Robert  de  Lamoran- 
diere,  Secretary  of  M.  l'lntendant ;  and  her  godmother  was  Madame 
Marguerite  Bonat,  wife  of  M.  Etienne  Pascaud,  the  deputy  treasurer 
of  the  King  in  this  country. 

"Her  name  Sarah  has  been  changed  to  Marguerite. 

[Signed]  "  Mgte  Bonat, 

Pascaud, 
Lamorandiere, 
Meriel,  Pretre." 

The  boys  remained  with  their  captors  at  Caughnawaga,  an 


44 

Indian  village  on  the  right  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River, 
directly  opposite  to  Lachine  ;  and  subsequently  married  squaws, 
and  became  chiefs  of  the  tribe.  Nothing  further  in  regard  to 
them  is  learned  until  April  20,  1739,  when  their  case  was 
brought  before  the  Council  and  House  of  Representatives,  in 
Boston.  At  this  time  Governor  Belcher  made  a  speech,  in 
which  he  said  that  — 

"  There  are  lately  come  from  Canada  some  Persons  that  were 
taken  by  the  Indians  from  Groton  above  thirty  Years  ago,  who  (its 
believed)  may  be  induced  to  return  into  this  Province,  on  your  giving 
them  some  proper  Encouragement :  If  this  Matter  might  be  effected, 
I  should  think  it  would  be  not  only  an  Act  of  Compassion  in  order 
to  release  them  from  the  Errors  and  Delusions  of  the  Romish  Faith  ; 
but  their  living  among  us  might,  in  Time  to  come,  be  of  great  Ad- 
vantage to  the  Province." 

The  matter  was  referred  to  a  committee,  but  no  definite  re- 
sult was  reached.  Nearly  forty  years  after  their  capture,  Gov- 
ernor Hutchinson  met  them  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and, 
in  his  "  History  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  refers 
to  them  thus  :  — 

"I  saw  at  Albany  two  or  three  men,  in  the  year  1744,  who  came 
in  with  the  Indians  to  trade,  and  who  had  been   taken  at  Groton  in 

this,  that  is  called  Queen  Ann's  war.     One  of  them Tarbell, 

was  said  to  be  one  of  the  wealthiest  of  the  Cagnawaga  tribe.  He 
made  a  visit  in  his  Indian  dress  and  with  his  Indian  complexion  (for 
by  means  of  grease  and  paints  but  little  difference  could  be  discerned) 
to  his  relations  at  Groton,  but  had  no  inclination  to  remain  there.'' 
(ii.  139.) 

Some  years  after  this  time,  these  two  boys  —  now  grown  up 
to  manhood,  and  occupying  the  position  of  chiefs  —  moved 
up  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  accompanied  by  several  others,  all 
with  their  families,  and  established  the  village  of  St.  Regis. 

Many  interesting  facts  in  regard  to  these  Tarbell  brothers 
may  be  found  in  Dr.  Franklin  B.  Hough's  "  History  of  St. 
Lawrence  and  Franklin  Counties,  New  York,"  published  at 
Albany,  in  the  year  1853.     St.  Regis  is  pleasantly  situated  on 


45 

the  right  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  the  boundary  line 
separating  the  State  of  New  York  from  Canada  running 
through  it.  A  part  of  the  village  comes  within  the  limits  of 
Franklin  County;  and  Dr.  Hough  has  gathered  some  of  the 
traditions  in  regard  to  them  still  extant  in  that  neighborhood. 
From  the  peculiar  position  of  St.  Regis,  it  was  agreed,  during 
the  last  war  with  England,  that  the  Indians  should  remain 
neutral,  though  the  agreement  was  often  .broken.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1852  the  tribe  numbered  about  eleven  hundred  persons, 
of  whom  it  is  said  that  not  one  was  of  pure  Indian  origin. 

In  former  years  the  St.  Regis  Indians  had  certain  rights  in 
a  land  reservation  in  the  State  of  New  York ;  and  more  than 
once  treaties  were  made  between  the  governor  of  the  State  and 
the  chiefs  of  the  tribe,  among  whom  were  descendants  of  these 
Tarbell  boys.  A  treaty  was  signed  on  February  20,  18 18,  in 
behalf  of  the  Indians,  by  Loran  Tarbell  and  Thomas  Tarbell, 
and  two  other  chiefs.  Another  treaty  was  signed  on  Septem- 
ber 23,  1825,  by  eleven  chiefs  and  trustees  of  the  tribe,  includ- 
ing Peter  Tarbell,  Thomas  Tarbell,  Mitchel  Tarbell,  Louis 
Tarbell,  and  Battice  Tarbell.  Some  of  these  names,  I  am  sure, 
will  sound  familiar  to  the  older  ones  in  this  audience.  It  is 
very  likely  that  Battice  is  the  same  as  Sabattis,  an  Indian 
name,  which  is  said  to  be  a  corruption  of  Saint  Baptiste. 

Dr.  Hough  writes  about  one  of  the  earlier  members  of  the 
family  as  follows  :  — 

"  A  half-breed  Indian,  who  usually  was  known  as  Peter  the 
Big  Speak,  was  a  son  of  Lesor  Tarbell,  one  of  the  lads  who  had 
been  stolen  away  from  Groton  by  the  Indians,  and  who  subsequently 
became  one  of  the  first  settlers  who  preceded  the  founding  of  St. 
Regis. 

"  He  was  a  man  of  much  address  and  ability  as  a  speaker,  and 
was  selected  as  the  mouthpiece  of  the  tribe  on  the  more  important 
occasions  that  presented  themselves."     (Page  182.) 

Dr.  Hough  is  wrong  when  he  says  that  Lesor  was  the  name 
of  one  of  the  captured  boys.  It  is  perfectly  well  known  that 
their  names  were  John  and  Zechariah,  but  it  is  not  improbable 
that  one  of  their  sons  was  named  Lesor.     If  this  was  the  case, 


46 

it  was  intended,  doubtless,  for  Eleazer,  the  name  of  their  young- 
est brother,  who  was  less  than  two  months  old  when  they 
were  carried  off.  It  certainly  would  be  a  very  touching  tribute 
to  their  childish  recollections  that  they  should  have  remem- 
bered this  little  babe  at  home,  and  carried  him  in  their  thoughts 
for  so  many  years. 

In  the  year  1772,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Ripley  and  Lieutenant 
Taylor  went  on  a  mission  to  Canada,  in  order  to  induce  some 
Indian  children  to  join  the  Charity  School  at  Hanover,  New 
Hampshire.  They  returned  September  21,  bringing  with  them 
eight  boys  from  Caughnawaga,  and  two  from  Lorette,  a  village 
near  Quebec.  Among  these  lads  was  a  descendant  of  one  of 
the  Groton  Tarbells.  (A  Continuation  of  the  Narrative  of  the 
Indian  Charity  School,  by  Eleazer  Wheelock,  D.D.,  1773, 
pages  39,  40.) 

A  Frenchman,  of  the  name  of  Fovel,  visited  St.  Regis  in 
the  year  1826,  and  induced  one  of  the  Tarbell  family,  whose 
Indian  name  was  Joseph  Torakaron,  to  accompany  him  to 
Europe.  Torakaron  was  to  travel  in  the  character  of  an  Indian 
chief,  and  Fovel  was  to  act  as  interpreter  and  agent.  They 
sailed  from  New  York,  and,  after  reaching  Paris,  they  obtained 
an  interview  with  Charles  X.  ;  and  so  favorable  was  the  im- 
pression produced  on  the  mind  of  the  king,  that  he  presented 
them  with  three  fine  paintings,  besides  some  money.  Subse- 
quently they  went  to  Rome,  where  they  were  presented  to  the 
Pope,  who  gave  them  some  books  and  plate  for  the  service  of 
the  church.     (Dr.  Hough's  History,  &c,  page  166.) 

In  the  summer  of  1877  I  visited  St.  Regis,  where  I  met  a 
grandson  of  one  of  the  Tarbell  boys  who  were  carried  off. 
He  was  more  than  eighty  years  old,  could  speak  only  the  In- 
dian language,  and  I  had  to  communicate  with  him  through  an 
interpreter.  In  this  way  I  learned  that  he  was  aware  of  the 
fact  that  his  grandfather  had  been  captured,  when  a  boy,  from 
a  town  near  Boston,  and  that  he  had  relatives  still  living  there. 
What  interested  me  exceedingly  was  the  physical  resemblance 
between  him  and  some  of  his  collateral  kindred  who  lived  and 
died  at  Squannacook,  within  my  recollection.     He  was  a  man 


47 

of  ordinary  size,  with  a  sunburnt  face  and  gray  hair,  though 
somewhat  bald.  There  was  but  little  appearance  of  Indian 
blood  in  his  veins,  and  he  would  have  passed  anywhere  for  a 
good-looking  old  man.  He  lived  with  one  of  his  sons  in  a 
small  house  that  was  clapboarded  and  painted, —  and  one  of  the 
best  in  the  village,  —  where,  surrounded  by  his  grandchildren, 
he  was  passing  the  declining  years  of  his  life  in  comfortable 
ease.  I  was  interested  to  learn  from  the  Reverend  Francis 
Marcoux,  the  parish  priest,  that  the  Tarbells  were  among  the 
most  prominent  families  of  the  settlement,  where  there  are, 
perhaps,  forty  persons  who  bear  the  name.  They  keep  up,  in 
a  great  measure,  the  same  given  names  that  are  common 
among  their  kindred  in  this  neighborhood.  The  inhabitants 
of  St.  Regis,  for  the  most  part,  retain  the  English  names  of 
their  fathers,  and,  besides,  have  Indian  ones. 

A  third  spot  that  might  appropriately  be  marked  by  the 
town  is  the  place  where  John  Shattuck  and  his  son  John,  a 
young  man  about  nineteen  years  old,  were  murdered  by  the 
Indians,  May  8,  1709.  They  were  returning  from  the  west 
side  of  the  Nashua  River,  where  Mr.  Shattuck  owned  land, 
and  were  attacked  just  as  they  were  crossing  the  Stony  Ford- 
way,  near  the  present  site  of  Hollingsworth's  paper-mills, 
where  they  were  killed.  At  the  time  of.  his  death,  Mr.  Shat- 
tuck was  one  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town. 

A  remarkable  fatality  seems  to  have  followed  Mrs.  Shattuck's 
kindred.  Her  husband  and  eldest  son  were  killed  by  the  In- 
dians, as  has  just  been  mentioned.  Her  father,  James  Blood, 
was  likewise  killed,  September  13,  1692.  So  also  were  her 
uncle,  William  Longley,  his  wife  and  five  children,  July  27, 
1694;  and  three  others  of  their  children  were  carried  away 
into  captivity  at  the  same  time.  A  relative,  James  Parker, 
Jr.,  and  his  wife  were  killed  in  this  assault,  and  their  chil- 
dren taken  prisoners.  Her  step-father,  Enosh  Lawrence,  re- 
ceived a  wound  in  an  engagement  with  the  Indians,  probably 
in  the  same  attack  of  July  27,  1694,  which  almost  wholly 
prevented  him  from  earning  a  livelihood  for  himself  and 
family.     The  three  Tarbell  children,  who  were  carried  off  to 


48 

Canada  by  the  Indians,  June  20,  1707,  were  cousins  of  Mrs. 
Shattuck.  John  Ames,  who  was  shot  by  the  savages  at  the 
gate  of  his  own  garrison,  July  9,  1724,  was  the  father  of  Jacob, 
who  married  her  niece,  Ruth  Shattuck.  And  lastly,  her  son- 
in-law,  Isaac  Lakin,  the  husband  of  her  daughter  Elizabeth, 
was  wounded  in  Lovewell's  fight  at  Pigwacket,  May  8,  1725. 
These  calamities  covered  a  period  of  only  one  generation,  ex- 
tending from  the  year  1692  to  1725. 

The  task  which  you  assigned  me  is  now  done;  and  I  need 
not  assure  you  that  it  has  been  a  labor  of  love.  I  will  end  it 
by  saying,  that  the  lesson  of  the  monuments  will  be  lost,  if  it 
does  not  teach  us  to  study  the  example  and  imitate  the  virtues 
of  the  founders  of  the  town. 


The  Reverend  Mr.  Willard's  career  after  the  burning  of  the  meeting- 
house is  not  traced  in  this  pamphlet,  as  it  was  given  in  an  historical 
address,  delivered  before  the  citizens  of  the  town,  on  the  Fourth  of 
July,   1876. 


APPENDIX 


The  roads  in  the  town  were  first  laid  out  to  meet  the  needs 
of  individual  families.  The  use  of  them  was  confined  to  the 
inhabitants,  as  there  was  no  other  public  to  accommodate. 
The  various  house-lots  had  been  selected  by  their  owners 
with  reference  to  convenience  of  tillage  or  some  other  local 
advantage  ;  and  these  were  to  be  connected  by  highways. 
The  roads  originally  were  of  great  width,  often  being  four  or 
six  rods  wide,  and  the  bends  and  turns  in  them  for  the  most 
part  were  owing  to  good  reasons.  Perhaps  a  tree  or  some 
other  obstruction  would  make  a  crook  in  the  direction  of  a 
road  ;  in  time  the  cause  might  disappear,  but  the  effect  would 
remain.  Encroachments  have  often  been  made  upon  them  in 
consequence  of  their  width  ;  and  on  various  occasions  the 
town  has  appointed  committees  to  prevent  such  encroach- 
ments, and  to  prosecute  the  offenders.  The  committees, 
however,  generally  settled  with  them  by  receiving  payment 
for  the  land. 

An  incomplete  list  of  the  early  highways  is  found  in  "The 
Indian  Roll."  It  is  in  the  handwriting  of  John  Morse,  the 
sixth  town-clerk  of  Groton,  and  appears  to  be  in  the  nature 
of  a  report.  Some  of  these  roads  have  been  discontinued  ; 
but  others  are  still  in  existence,  and  can  be  readily  made 
out.     The  list  is  as  follows  :  — 

"...  from  tim  to  tim  and  at  all  times  previous  thos  that  use  it 
shut  vp  the  barres  or  gat 

"  from  the  meeting  house  another  highway  out  of  the  Countrey 
Road  betwixt  William  Martins  house  lot  and  Joseph  Lawrances 
house  lot  of  four  poll  wid  till  it  com  to  the  medow  and  then  soe 

7 


5o 

wid  as  a  sufficient  causey  determin  it  and  from  the  bridg  to  by  the 
half  moone  medow  sid  of  foure  poll  wid  for  the  vseof  Willa  Martin 
and  William  Lakin 

"  Also  from  that  causey  by  the  pond  and  medow  sid  into  the 
woods  to  Badacook  a  hie  way 

"  another  hye  way  for  Timothy  Allen  goeing  out  of  the  pro- 
hibeted  land  thorow  Joseph  Lawrances  land  near  Timothy  Aliens 
of  two  poll  wid 

"  Also  another  hye  way  out  of  the  Countrey  Road  by  ser  William 
Lakins  befor  his  Dore  thorow  his  land  as  it  is  now  stated  by  the 
commitee  the  town  chose 

"  Also  a  high  way  out  of  the  countrey  Road  by  timothy  Aliens  to 
Joseph  Gilson  and  soe  into  the  hye  way  that  come  from  ser  Lakins 
to  goe  to  Richard  Bloods 

"And  out  of  that  way  goe  a  way  by  ser  William  Lakins  betwixt 
Richard  Blood  and  Alexander  Rouse  and  betwixt  William  Longley 
senio=  and  John  Lakins  till  we  com  into  the  common  woods 

"  Also  a  hye  way  as  it  is  now  stated  thorow  James  Parkers  medow 
to  Mr  Willards  medow  Robert  bloods  and  John  Nuttings 

"  Also  another  high  way  from  John  Lakins  [to]  the  meeting 
house  as  it  is  now  stated  the  way  by  the  new  bridges  from  Nod  " 

The  words  "from  Nod"  are  in  a  different  handwriting  from 
Morse's.  "  Nod  "  is  the  old  name  of  the  district  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  cross-roads,  below  the  soapstone  quarry. 

"  Also  another  high  way  from  James  Bloods  house  wheir  he 
now  dwell  in  to  the  way  coming  from  John  Lakins  near  the  place 
wheir  John  Lakins  old  hous  stood 

"  Also  another  highway  turing  out  of  the  Countrey  Road  neare 
the  meeting  house  runing  thorow  Joseph  Lawrances  land  on  the 
south  side  adjoyning  to  Captain  Parkers  land  of  two  poll  wid  goe- 
ing to  half  moone  medow  which  was  formerly  Timothy  Aliens  but 
now  Timothy  Coopers  and  this  hye  way  only  for  his  vse 

"  An  agreement  betwixt  Joseph  Lawrance'  and  Timothy  Cooper 
in  the  year  1672 

"  That  their  shalbe  a  hye  way  for  the  vse  of  timothy  Cooper  out 
of  the  hye  way  from  the  corner  of  Walter  Skiners  land  on  the  south 
side  of  Joseph  Lawrances  land  to  the  medow  of  timothy  Cooper 
that  lye  in  halfe  moon  medow 

"A  hye  way  Runing  ouer  James  Bloods  medow  of  two  poll  wid 
goeing  to  the  Hand  in  Reedy  Medow  " 


5i 

The  description  of  the  last  three  highways  appears  to  have 
been  written  subsequently  to  the  rest,  but  it  is  in  Morse's 
handwriting. 

"  1670  febr  28  Also  a  peice  of  land  to  lye  common  hence  for- 
ward (viz)  a  hill  calld  by  the  name  of  Sheeplees  hill  and  all  the 
comon  land  that  lye  about  it  between  y"  two  pathes  the  one  that  come 
from  John  Lakins  to  the  meeting  house  and  that  which  goe  from 
Jno  Lakins  to  Reedy  medow 

"  That  highway  that  come  from  the  bridge  to  Nathaniell  Law- 
rances  lotend  shalbe  a  open  highway  of  four  poll  wid  from  sergent 
Lakins  medow  to  Nathaniell  Lawrances  lot  betweene  sergent  James 
Parkers  land  and  that  land  that  was  left  out  of  of  [sic]  the  sd  ser- 
gent James  Parkers  by  Nathaniell  Bloods  house  shalbe  layd  downe 
for  the  vse  of  the  town  and  former  record  of  shuting  vp  of  barres 
shalbe  mad  annulle  " 

I  think  that  this  highway  formerly  ran  on  the  west  side  of 
Gibbet  Hill,  from  the  present  Lowell  road  to  the  Martin's 
Pond  road. 

"  Only  their  is  a  liberty  left  for  opening  or  shuting  of  this  high 
[sic]  by  the  commitee  chussen  and  the  neighbourhood  when  the 
towne  see  case  that  their  is  more  neadfull  for  the  leaueing  of  it  open 
then  it  is  aduantag  to  sergent  Parker  or  any  other  they  are  to  leau 
it  open  againe  and  the  commitee  hau  receiued  full  satisfaction  for 
all  the  comon  land  that  lye  vpon  the  west  and  northwest  sid  of 
gibbet  hill  except  the  hye  way  and  the  hye  way  is  left  four  poll  wid 
from  sergent  Parkers  line  from  the  swamp  along  the  medow  sid  to 
the  bridg  swamp  from  the  medow  and  that  skirt  of  land  that  was 
sergent  Parkers  by  the  meeting  housse  is  determined  by  the  com- 
mitee to  lye  comon  for  euer 

"  Also  a  hyeway  that  lye  thorow  Joseph  lawrances  land  down  to 
halfe  moone  medow  is  satisfied  for 

"  and  the  hyeway  by  Nathaniell  Bloods  is  satisfied  for 

"  Also  the  hyeway  from  Nicolas  Cadyes  leading  to  brown  loaf 
plain  is  enlarged  of  of  sergent  Parkers  land  —  also  half  an  acre 
taken  of  sergent  Parkers  land  at  the  north  east  of  end  of  Gibbet 
hill  for  the  streitening  of  Nathaniell  Lawrances  line  .  .  .  James  his 
Brook  till  we  com  to  the  cor[ner]  of  Jonathan  Sawtells  medow 
m[ee]ting  with  the  other  high  way 

"3ly  from  the  countrey  high  way  by  William   Ellues  and  soe  by 


52 

Richard  holdens  purchis  of  Richard  holden  of  two  pooll  wid  for 
which  he  is  satisfied  for  till  it  meet  with  the  high  way  which  was 
purchased  of  Samuell  Dauis 

"4  A  high  way  goeing  out  of  Lanchester  Road  near  John 
pages  of  four  poll  wid  so  goeing  into  the  way  that  goe  to  mill  near 
Benjamin  crisps  which  high  way  was  ptly  purchased  of  Samuell 
dauis  Richard  holden  Daniell  peirce  and  James  Knop  butting  vpon 
William  Longley  John  Morse  vpon  the  west  and  Thomas  Tarball 
James  Knop  on  the  east  and  the  rest  of  the  way  goeing  through 
thos  mens  lots  for  mentioned  and  satisfaction  giuen  them  to  their 
content  by  the  towne  commitee  " 

Perhaps  the  highway  starting  from  Farmers'  Row,  near  the 
"  Community,"  passing  by  the  District  School-house,  No.  2, 
and  the  late  Levi  Stone's,  —  as  laid  down  on  the  map  in  Mr. 
Butler's  History,  —  into  the  Harvard  road. 

"  A  high  way  goeing  out  of  Lanchester  roode  of  four  polle  wide 
goeing  to  the  south  end  of  the  generall  field  lots  next  to  James  his 
Brook  bounded  south  with  Richard  holdens  swamp  and  medow  and 
John  Morsse  north  with  the  land  of  John  Sawtell  and  Richard  hol- 
den from  which  their  goe  a  high  way  along  the  generall  field  till  we 
com  to  the  common  land  by  Samuell  Dauis  the  said  way  beeing 
four  poll  wid  running  between  Richard  holden  and  the  [general] 
feild  " 

The  road  going  toward  Page's  Bridge. 

"  and  near  about  the  midle  of  that  way  their  goeth  a  high  way 
of  four  [pole]  wide  downe  the  generall  feild  to  the  neck  vpon  the 
riuer  " 

The  "  neck  "  was  near  the  farm  of  the  late  Major  Amos 
Farnsworth. 

"  A  high  way  goeing  out  of  Lanchester  Roode  by  thomas  Tar- 
ball Junio=  of  four  poll  wid  Thomas  tarball  of  the  north  and 
Joseph  Blood  on  the  South  " 

The  road  leading  to  the  Red  Bridge  and  Squannacook, — 
on  the  south  side  of  James  Lawrence's  farm. 

"  A  high  way  that  goe  out  of  Lanchester  Rood  near  the  meet- 
ing house  all  the  land  that  lye  common  vpon  the  head  of  Jonathan 
Crisps  lot  between  Samuell  Kemp  and  James  Robersons  lyeing  for 


53 

common  as  hye  way  and  soe  runing  from  the  end  of  Samuell  Kemps 
lot  between  Jonathan  Crisps  and  James  Robersons  and  so  down  to 
the  riuer 

"  A  high  way  that  goe  out  of  Lanchester  Rood  near  the  meeting 
house  and  soe  between  Timothy  cooper  and  James  Robersons  and 
through  Timothy  coopers  land  and  to  James  Bloods  hous  lot  till  we 
com  to  the  common  land  and  common  land  left  for  a  high  way 
between  Will  Longley  senio=  and  Christopher  hall  and  Timothy 
Cooper  which  leadeth  into  the  high  way  by  Jonathan  Crisps  lot 
down  to  the  riuer 

"  A  high  way  that  goe  out  of  Lanchester  Rood  near  Samvell 
Kemp  lyeing  between  John  Nutting  and  .  .  .  runing  to  Broad 
medow  .  .  .  with  the  end  ...  so  along  the  medow  till  you  com 
to  the  high  way  coming  from  John  Pag  towards  Benjamin  Crisp 

"  A  high  way  of  two  poll  wid  goeing  from  Lanchester  Road  near 
to  Thomas  Tarba[lPs]  between  Richard  Blood  on  the  south  and 
Joseph  Parker  on  the  north  and  so  runing  down  to  Broad  medow  " 

This  goes  out  of  some  part  of  Farmer's  Row  ;  perhaps  it 
is  the  westerly  end  of  the  Broad  Meadow  road. 

"  And  for  the  mill  Road  between  James  fnsk  and  Samuell  Woods 
Run  a  way  to  the  mill  of  sixe  poll  wide  excepting  by  the  house  of 
Richard  Sawtell  from  James  ffiskes  staks  to  Richard  Sawtells 
house  soe  runing  of  six  poll  wid  till  we  come  to  Matthias  ffarn- 
worths  land  continuing  6  poll  wid  to  the  mill  leading  to  the  mill  " 

This  is  the  highway  leading  from  the  "  Great  Road,"  and 
passing  by  the  birthplace  of  Colonel  Prescott,  thence  over 
James's  Brook  toward  Harvard. 

"and  out  of  that  way  Run  a  way  to  Rock  medow  near  to  Mat- 
thias ffarnworth  and  thes  waves  riming  thorow  pt  of  his  land  ne[ar] 
the  place  wheir  thes  waves  are  now  improued  " 

The  Snake  Hill  road,  only  lately  shut  up  to  public  travel. 

"out  of  Chelmsford  Road  goe  a  high  way  of  four  poll  wide  by 
Ellis  barron  thorow  his  land  of  four  poll  wide  and  then  six  poll  wid 
into  the  countrey  Road  at  way  pond  " 

Way  Pond  is  the  old  name  of  Long  Pond.  The  road 
started,  perhaps,  from  the    Ridges. 

"And  near  Richard  Sawtells  house  on  the  south  sid  of  James 
his  Brook  a  way  of  foure  poll  wid  in  the  most  convenient  place  to 


54 

broad  medow  for  carting  of  hay  or  drilling  of  cattell  which  way 
run  through  the  land  of  Richard  Sawtels  " 

This  road  starts  from  the  late  Eber  Woods's  house,  —  as 
laid  down  on  the  map  in  Mr.  Butler's  History,  —  and  runs 
westerly  over  Swill  Bridge. 

"Also  a  high  way  riming  to  Broad  medow  betweene  Richard 
Sawtells  house  and  Samuel  Woods  thorow  that  piece  of  land  that 
[is]  already  prohibited 

"Also  a  high  way  of  four  poll  wid  going  down  to  Broad  Medow 
lyeing  betwene  Mr  Samvell  Willard  and  William  Greene  " 

This  is  the  easterly  end  of  the  Broad  Meadow  road,  which 
then  led  only  to  the  meadow.  In  the  year  1752,  two  rods  in 
width  on  the  north  side  of  the  road  was  sold  by  the  town 
to  the  Reverend  Mr.  Trowbridge,  who  owned  the  adjoining 
land. 

"  Out  of  Chelmes  Road  goe  a  high  way  near  to  wheir  Joshua 
Whitneys  first  house  stood  of  four  poll  wid  runing  of  that  sid 
ferney  medow  to  Brown  loaf  plain  so  vnto  common  " 

This  is  the  first  road  below  Cady  Pond,  and  runs  northerly 
from  the  "  Great  Road." 

"  Another  high  way  goeing  out  of  the  countrey  high  way  near  to 
Nicolas  Cady  going  between  his  medow  and  Ser  James  Parkers 
land  winding  down  towards  Jacob  Ongs  house  and  so  thorow  his 
land  and  soe  betwene  ser  Parkers  land  and  James  ffiskes  land  and 
to  Brown  loaf  plaine  " 

Cady  lived  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  pond  named  after 
him,  and  Ong,  near  the  late  Reuben  L.  Torrey's  house,  —  as 
given  on  the  map  in  Mr.  Butler's  History.  The  road  starts 
from  Phineas  G.  Prescott's  house,  runs  northerly  perhaps 
eighty  rods,  to  Mr.  Torrey's,  and  then  bears  off  easterly  to 
Brown  Loaf.  The  first  section  of  it  is  the  southerly  end  of 
Love  Lane. 

"  Another  high  way  goeing  out  of  the  countrey  high  way  betwixt 
Mr  Willard  and  William  Green  goeing  by  Nathaniell  Lawrances 
vnder  the  south  sid  of  gibbet  hill  into  those  medows  and  woods  " 

This  is  the  beginning  of  the  present  Lowell  Road,  which 
formerly  passed  only  on  the  south  side  of  the  meeting-house. 


55 

"  and  out  of  that  way  goe  another  way  by  Thomas  Smith  goeing 
betwixt  Thomas  Smith  and  Nathaniell  Lawrance  and  along  by  ser 
James  Parkers  land  and  into  that  way  that  leadeth  from  Nicolas 
Cadyes  to  br[own]  loaf  plain  near  Jackob  Onges  " 

The  northerly  end  of  Love  Lane. 

"  And  out  of  that  way  a  way  by  Natha[niel]  Lawrances  barne 
goeing  into  the  neck  .  .  .  gat  or  a  sufficiet  pair  of  draw  barrs  to 
[be]  Kept  and  maintained  at  the  end  [of]  Natha[niel]  Lawrances 
feild  by  Ser  Pa[rker]  .  .  .  assignes  for  euer  ..." 


The  following  list  of  names,  on  a  loose  leaf  without  date,  is 
found  in  "  The  Indian  Roll."  It  comprises,  with  the  exception 
of  Mr.  Willard,  the  heads  of  families  living  in  the  town  soon 
after  its  resettlement.  An  approximation  of  the  time  when 
it  was  written  may  be  obtained  from  the  following  fact :  The 
name  of  Widow  Longley  appears  in  the  list  ;  as  her  husband 
died  November  29,  1680,  it  was  made  subsequently  to  that  date, 
but  probably  not  much  later.  Mr.  Willard  was  not  a  resident 
of  the  town  at  this  time,  though  a  large  land-owner.  The  first 
forty-seven  names  are  in  the  handwriting  of  Jonathan  Morse, 
who  was  the  town-clerk  from  the  year  1682  to  1685  ;  but  the 
others  were  written  by  Captain  James  Parker. 


Samiwell  Kemp 

1 

John  Coper 

1 1 

Danill  Pears 

2 

Mastr  Rusill 

12 

Richard  Blood 

3 

Timithy  Alin 

*3 

Nicklis  Cady 

4 

Adim  gooll 

14 

Obadiah  Satill 

5 

Jams  Robison 

IS 

Samiwell  Wods 

6 

Jams  Blood 

16 

Joseph  Blood 

7 

Joseph  Parker 

17 

Thomis  Tarbll  Sen 

8 

Zackriali  Hicks 

18 

John  Nutin 

9 

William  Longly 

19 

Nathanill  Blood 

10 

Jams  Nutin 

20 

56 


Samiwell  Dauis  21 

Thorn  is  Smith  23 

Timithy  Copr  24 

Enosh  Loranc  25 

Jonathan  Mors  26 

John  ffarnom  27 

Jonas  Prescod  28 

John  Pag  29 

Nathan  buswall  30 

Willim  gren  31 

Cristouer  Hall  32 

Captin  Parkr  S3 

Rubin  Blood  35 
Matthias  flarnom  Sr      36 

Jonithan  Lorinc  37 

Jacob  Ong  38 

Joshuy  Wheat  39 

Willim  gern  40 

Richard  Satill  41 

John  Parish  42 

Bengiman  [blank]  43 

Joseph  Mors  44 

Simon  Stoon  45 

Justin  Holld :  46 

Sargin  Lackins  47 


Zackriah  ffars  48 

Zackriah  Satill  49 

Leftenent  lackin  50 
Thomas  Tarbol  Jun       51 

John  lacken  52 

John  Morse  53 

John  larenc  54 

Wily  am  Sanders  55 

Richrd  Houlden  56 

Capten  Parker  57 

Nich°  Huchesen  58 

John  baren  59 

Joseph  larenc  60 

Mat  farn worth  Jun  61 

Elis  baron  62 

James  Knap  63 

Insin  larenc  64 

James  Cadey  65 

Mr  Sam  Wilerd  66 

John  Parker  67 

James  Parker  68 

Jonethen  Satle  69 

Sam  Church  70 

Widow  longly  71 

Eles  baron  jr  72 

Joseua  Witney  73 


University  Press:    John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge. 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORM  V 

.Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  I)  \  I  I 
STAMPED  BELOW 


Series  9  182 


:* 


